Chaotic World
by Amy Yu
Summary: Nakano Takeko (1847-1868) born of the Aizu domain, a japanese female warrior, daughter of Nakano Heinai as the eldest child. A skilled naginata (polearm) user. Participated in the Boshin War and was shot in a charge, fatally wounded she asked her own sister to cut off her head in the fear the Imperial Army would defile her body. Died at age of 21, or did she? "Next".
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Entering into the Chaotic World

I have done a huge revamp on this fanfiction, because I wrote this two years ago I think and since the anime is out I'm deciding to change it. My writing style has changed and this is kind of bad... A huge character change and there will be more detail. I will be working heavily on this.  
Edited: 29/06/2016

* * *

 _"Next"._

* * *

A young woman sat with twenty other women, all were sweating nervously as they continued to hear the constant banging sounds of rifles and the clashing of cold metal against each other. They had managed to hole themselves up in one of the rooms of the castle with some injured soldiers. The few medics they had were tending with their wounds but it was inevitable that some would die, but it was the least the women could do to was ease their pain. The young female felt daunted with her task and she didn't know what she was to do, but all of these people followed her for some cause and she had to act the part of a leader, even if she wasn't meant to be one. She sat very still as she felt a viscous liquid drip from her cuts, soaking into the fabric of her sleeves. She was hurt, but not as hurt as the other men in the room. The cuts stung, but for some reason she felt vividly alive with each ooze of blood dribbling down. Each drop represented her life, slowly oozing away from her and it gave her a sense of thrill.

"Check if your rifles are loaded", Takeko said mumbled softly, she thumbed her bullets. They were strange little metal balls, that didn't look like much and weren't that heavy. But the damage they could do combined with the black powder she had in her pouch was enough to kill someone. She wasn't particularly fond of guns or machinery, she felt that they were weapons that cheated a real fight, there was no honour nor pride to be taken when you killed a person with this contraption. "Remember, do waste your movements, every strike counts", she added, she tried to think back to time where there was no war and there was peace. But as she thought about it, this country which she called her home was always in war, and when not in war there was this constant tension which made people vibrate with the feeling of apprehension and fear. The fear that another would break out, and they were right. After all, a country not in war was a country preparing for the next war. She lips thinned at the thought, it was strange for her to think like that but she couldn't really see this situation in a bright light.

The women nodded as they worked, loading their rifles and fastening their weapons. Although the other women were in a nerve-wrecking turmoil, Takeko could only felt oddly calm, her body was relaxed and her breathing was even. The women drew their naginata's closer to them, they held onto their weapons tightly, their knuckles turning white and their leader could understand them. It was something that no-one truly would ever want to participate in unless forced upon. But she knew men who would gladly go to war, and she admired them. But she also thought of them to be foolish, the age of warriors was dying and soon they would be a legend. She knew that, and she knew after this battle the age of samurai would soon be coming to and end. How sad was it? Centuries of history would be washed away with the mark of technology. How sad indeed, but the young woman felt that she wouldn't even be able to witness that.

"You...you are Nakano Takeko?" One of the injured men said, his voice wary. He eyed the women and their weaponry, but he focused most of his attention on their leader. Nakono Takeko, one of the few woman who was trained in martial arts and combat. He knew of her accomplishments and her heritage, but because of that he didn't quite believe such a noble could be holed up in this hellhole with along the likes of these soldiers. It was hard to believe, this young woman in her twenties was leading a team of armed women to an ambush with no clear idea on whether they were going to survive or not. It was a strange sight as well, it was a rare sight to see woman doing anything beyond housework but at the same time it was refreshing. At least in his last moments he would be to see a beautiful young woman and not a grimy old man.

"Yes", Takeko replied lightly as she gave the man an awkward smile. She felt a little embarrassed, she had purposely worn men clothing and cropped her hair to make her less noticeable but in the end she was still a recognisable figure. Her luck was never so good and she somewhat had become used it. The soldier raised a brow, he had heard rumours of a specially made team of female warriors. All fierce and intelligent and quick witted. Every single woman had cast away their hair, status and life to serve and fight for their own sake. No longer bound to what defined them they fought and broke the chains of society, wanting to define themselves with a new image. Not as a plain ordinary woman with no outstanding peculiarities but as fierce warriors able to accomplish what men can do. One woman of the team was worth twenty men, and it wasn't to say that the leader was worth one hundred. The soldier had heard many rumours surrounding the young lady, some were true, some false but to think that the rumoured Aizu Joshitai group existed was more than amazing.

"Hmph, to think you guys were actually real. You guys must be nuts to be here", the man gruffly coughed out. He was injured, heavily and probably wouldn't make it out the room alive let alone to fight. Takeko let out a stiff laugh, she knew she shouldn't be even laughing but it was only the way she relieve the tension. But she stopped laughing as she thought about the circumstances of this war and how she came to be the commander of this team of women.

"We are crazy indeed, but it's better than being who we were before. Might as well die doing something", Takeko murmured out softly as she threw him a flask of wine, she didn't drink but she knew that a man like him would rather drown his sorrows and pains in liquor. These were going to be his final moments.

The soldier chuckled, they were right. Better off than being who were they before. No women was truly respected in this time, and these women were going to make a change or trying at least. To put their names in history. One of the walls of the castle capsized, a fire from a cannon was heard as several more foundations of the castle broke down, shaking the entire room and fortress. The men and women held onto to each other in fear of death, but Takeko had her eyes closed. She concentrated merely on the sound of battle and nothing else. Blocking out everything else she found herself in quite a peculiar state, where she was scared of the imminent battle but at the same time she was longing for it. She could feel the rising tension within the room, it made her skin prickle and her nerves tingle in excitement and thrill. She could hear the soldiers shifting themselves as they prepared their next move. The women were doing the same, they were polearms user, they did not fight close to the enemy. They fought from a good distance to minimise damage upon themselves and maximise damage on the enemy.

"They are coming", Takeko said as she heard the distant footsteps of the dogs of the Shogun was coming towards them. "Prepare for the surprise attack", she continued to thumb her bullet. Her rifle was loaded and ready for fire but she wanted to get the soldiers when they were most vulnerable and not expecting it. She knew their orders were not to harm the women as they were to take them as hostages but that would be their downfall. So this were their perfect chance, she opened her eyes slowly as she slowly stood up to face the door. The chains around her waist clinking against each other softly, the pull and tear of fabric in her hands and the sharp and metallic sound of a blade being unsheathed. She let out a soft sigh and breathed in the air, don't think, don't feel, move ahead.

It was just a flash of a moment but time seemed to freeze at the very moment, men came crashing through the door. They are their weapons drawn, they were expecting a group of defenceless women all huddled together awaiting their demise, they were expecting some few soldiers near death. They were not expecting a flurry of silver and a row of women with their rifles out. Takeko drew out her own and the moment she shot her own rifle a cascade of bullets rained down upon the first few men who entered the room. At that moment the rifles were abandoned and the polearms were taken out, the stunned soldiers didn't know for a moment that they the hunters had become the hunted. Tormented cries of help and screams of pain filled the room, everything seemed so disorientated at that moment. Takeko was in a daze, her blade cleanly sliced through the flesh and bone, her naginata certainly did not have a long blade but it was thicker than a sword and it had a longer range. The wooden glazed pole which she gripping onto tightly gave her enough guard, so defence strong. She felt her blood boiling, there was an unfamiliar feeling creeping within her, something she had nothing felt before. Was it joy?

Heavy pants could be heard in the room as the women regained their composure, some were injured but nothing more than a few cuts. Takeko had a smile on her face, it had creeped upon without her even realising it, how thrilling was that?! Better than fighting against small opponents for practice, better than a dojo, better than wooden dolls. This was war! This was a true fight where nothing was held back! She felt alive and utterly so amazed at how she never experienced this feeling before. "We're moving out, collect what you need", Takeko ordered, there was adrenaline running within her veins. She was jumpy and tingly, and she knew she was showing it, as a huge smile was creeping along her face which disorientated some of the men and women. But they had seen that expression before, she was drifting far beyond them and becoming something else.

The women nodded in agreement tersely and picked themselves up from the ground. The injured soldiers of Aizu could only stare in amazement, it was now that they understood why such a group was formed in the first place. It was terrifying that these once simple household women could kill with such ease and without remorse. And now a twenty-one year old woman could command them with such ease and effortlessness. But at that the same time they were scared, they were scared of this woman, throughout the entire fight she had a wide smile across her face and to add with that she never gave a second glance at the dead bodies. She even tread over one of the corpses without even a look down at what she was stepping.

"We leave now".

* * *

"Break their lines!" Takeko shouted out, the rush of adrenaline was incredible, never in her life had she felt so alive. She was laughing, she had never felt so liberated and free, all her life she had been tied down to something. Whether it be her family, gender, social status or society itself; she had been chained down. But now she was free and she could whatever she wished, she laughed in utter joy. This was a major bet with heavy wagers, life or death but for some reason she couldn't even think about it, after all she was having a time of her life. Onward they charged into the jaws of Death, she tightened her grip on her spear, a onetime opportunity and if she were to die then she would knowing she had done something honourable. The wind whipped past her, her hair whipping around the side of her cheeks. The wind chaffed her skin but she paid no mind, she had her eyes on the commander. The exhilarating feeling she had would never be forgotten, this rushing sensation that tingled her spine was indescribable.

The line of men had their rifles drawn out, they were waiting for the perfect moment to fire upon the women. Takeko met eyes with their commander, she gritted her teeth, the commander mouthed out words that she couldn't hear but she knew what he said. She stuck her tongue out childishly as she pulled the horses reins even tighter. She silently counted down in her head, she knew the distance at which they would fire, it was a standard.

Three.

Two.

One.

A resounding bang of the rifles deafened the soldiers, a few cries of pain surrounded her but she focused all her attention to the commander. She was a main target but at the moment they were about to pull the triggers she leapt from her steed and ducked down to avoid the hail of metal, most of the women had managed to do so but a few unfortunate one were too late and were shot down. She felt a stinging pain in her abdomen, a bullet had grazed her however it was nothing that couldn't been fixed by a few bandages. And there was no turning back now, she so close to them.

"Ready your spears!" Takeko screamed out, she drew her gun and with an eagle-like precision she managed to shoot down the commander. The bullet lodging itself in his head, chunks of flesh tearing out from his head as blood dribbling from his mouth. He stupidly garbled out a few words before falling down. She laughed in joy, her expression could only be described as ecstatic. The charge broke through the line, the trample of horses crushed the men beneath them. A cry of warriors as the second cavalry took place of the first with their swords and guns drawn. The young warriors let out a blood-hurdling war-cry as they charged forward, Takeko one of them. She felt blood whip against her face with each strike, her swung her polearm with ease, years of practice and experience made it all too easy for her to cut down the soldiers. One by one they fell, but the amount was overwhelming. She wasn't a warrior or a solder, she was a martial artist, her talents were better used against trained professionals of the arts of weaponry.

She jumped from samurai to samurai, she kept cutting through them that she lost track of time. How many men had she killed? Her wounds were increasing, with each new gash and cut she felt her blood drip away from her. And yet she couldn't stop, she was intoxicated by the smell of war. Her sanity began slip away from her, with each samurai she slew her grin grew wider and wider. Blood had died her clothing red, and her hair was matted with this blood. Her thoughts became hazy, all she could see now was a sea of blood.

She could not longer tell who she was fighting, they were blurred visions but all she knew was to strike whatever was ahead of her.

"Elder sister!" A voice pierced through the haziness and clouded mind of Takeko's, it was like the sudden an abrupt twang of an untoned string of her koto. And instrument she loved so fondly and one she played ever so often, a beloved gift from her uncle.

"Yūko?" Takeko turned to towards the sound, she caught eyes with her little sister. She was running towards her with terror in her eyes, "What are yo-", she heard a large resounding bang, one different from the rest of the clatter of sounds. Because there was a sharp and excruciating pain accompanying it in her chest, she looked down in shock to see a hole in her chest. Blood began pouring from the hole and the fabric which had been dyed the blood of anothers soon became dyed with the blood of hers. She had been shot, she looked up to see an armoured samurai still holding the rifle with a smug grin. With the last of her energy keeping her up she withdrew her own rifle and with one shot the man who shot her was now lying on the ground in pain. Most likely to die as well.

"Elder sister! Elder sister!" Yūko came rushing to her side when Takeko suddenly collapsed. Her legs felt heavy and her chest suddenly felt like as if there was someone sitting on it. So that was what it felt like to be shot, what a horrible feeling. She would've rather had her arm cut off. She drifted in and out from consciousness, the only thing that was keeping her awake was the voice of her sister. She looked up through her hazed eyes to see Yūko's teared stained face as she dragged Takeko away from the heat of the battle. As she did that she repeatedly said that she was going to be okay. She kept on repeating it like a mantra as if believing it would come true, however both knew that it was a fatal wound and there was no correct equipment to take out the bullet and mend her wounds. Takeko didn't say anything as her sister continued to pull her, she wanted to stand and at least limp to spare her sister the energy of carrying her but she didn't seem to have the strength.

* * *

Yūko managed to drag Takeko far from the battle and propped her against a tree, after that she began to pull aside the layers of clothing, her fingers tained red from the blood in the fabric. She gasped as she saw the full injury, and how it was so deep. She felt her tears well up again, how was she supposed to mend this? She barely had enough to patch it up, but she didn't have the equipment to pull out a bullet. She wiped the blood the best she could but it continued to bleed, the gaping hole would not close and it continued to drip blood as if mocking her.

"There is so much blood", Yūko's voice trembled as she took out her flask of water, there wasn't much left but she did her best with what she had. She washed the wound and using what little she had and wrapped the wound up, she was thankful that the bullet didn't go straight through her or it would've shattered on of her back bones for sure. But Takeko's breaths became more laboured. She had lost too much blood and she had too many wounds to count. Takeko nodded numbly as she tried to not think of the pain, but that didn't so well. Her adrenaline had worn off and now she was so painfully aware of her situation, she knew she wasn't going to make. Not with her wounds and her sister having to carry her away. It was simply not possible.

Yūko was in despair, what could she do? She never had the training she had like her older sister, she was only here as a medic, not a warrior. Her hands trembled a little as she placed the healing herbs into the cuts and wounds, the moss would at least slow down the bleeding but there was just too much blood. Finding that she had no more cloth, she tore from her own dress to wrap up more of her wounds. Yūko's breathing began to quicken, she was hyperventilating and she didn't know how to stop it. Startled a little she felt a rather warm hand cupped her face and gently wiped her tears away. Had she been crying? Yūko did not realise this, she just stared down at her sister teary-eyed, sniffling every now and then.

"Be calm", Takeko said with a smile, "You were always one easy to cry". She brushed away the stray tears with her fingers letting the droplets of water run down her arm. Takeko always knew her sister was a crybaby, she had always been one and she doubted that would ever change. She did adore her little sister and her little brother, they were both so cute. Unlike her, she was always seen as elegant and graceful even though she was actually far from that. She swore and cussed, she dressed a man and often did she climb trees and play with frogs for own amusement. She had always thought it would've been better if she was born as a man.

Yūko widened her eyes and bawled even harder at the implications. "You can't just die! You can't do that sister! You're just so cruel!" She yelled banging against Takeko's chest lightly, she wanted to hit her but she knew her sister had too many wounds so she refrained from doing so. She always looked upon her sister, she was such a strange character and it was never boring being around her. But most than that, she had been a beacon for the Aizu for quite some time and even their father favoured the eldest child more than the younger son and daughter.

"If you were to die then I would be left alone! Alone!" Yūko clutched onto her sister's vest even tighter, her tears were free falling now and now all could be heard were the distant cries and bangs of a battles. Takeko combed her fingers through her hair letting out a heavy sigh, what was she do. How dear sister probably couldn't move from this spot any more. Her sister was just to weak-hearted, a fool as well, a huge fool.

"Yūko, I need to you to do something that only you can do", using the last of her energy she heaved herself up.

"Lay down you fool, you'll only make you wound bleed even more!" Yūko attempted to push her sister down but she swatted her hand away. Takeko drew her short sword out and taking Yūko's hands she placed the sword in her palms.

"I, Nakano Takeko order you Nakano Yūko, to cut off my head so my head will not be taken as a trophy and so my body shall not be defiled by the soldiers of Tokugawa", Takeko looked at her straight in the eyes, she would never allow her body to be defiled by the so-called samurai of the Tokugawa faction. She would rather die a thousand deaths than let that happen, but if she was going to die she might as well let someone she trusted to do the job. Her dear sister. It sounded so cruel of her to do that, but she wasn't going to survive anyways so might as well die in the hands of someone she loved. There was a smile on her face, as she beamed up towards her younger sister.

Yūko's hand trembled as she held onto the sword, her eyes widened and the tears seemed to multiply, "I…I can't! I just can't do it! He left us too early and now you're going to leave me as well!" She bawled even harder, gripping the blade so hard that it drew blood from her fingers. Takeko knew she referred to their other younger brother, one who had died from illness

"Come along now, death is inevitable, all you are doing is speeding up the process", Takeko took hold of Yūko's hands have positioned them at her neck, the edge of the blade scraped her skin ever so slightly drawing a few droplets of blood.

"Be strong", Takeko murmured closing her eyes. Her breath became calmer, just one slice and it be over. One clean cut and it would over, she let out a soft sigh.

"Good bye elder sister", Yūko said in a choked voice to Takeko. She was now saying a farewell towards her beloved sister, her death was upon her hands and she would forever remember that.

"Good bye little sister", she let out a breathy sigh as she felt the blade be pushed deeper into her skin. Her world went black all of the sudden. Did she want to die?

No.

 _"Next"._

* * *

I don't anything but my OC.

The cover is done by me so if you wish to use it ask me first.

I constantly edit my chapters, so if you are one of my first few readers and realise that some things are different in the chapters, that's because I am editing them to make them better.

Nakano Takeko is actually a real person, she did in fact participate the Boshin War however she was shot in the chest while leading a charge. It was a fatal wound and she forced to retreat from battle, in her last moments, afraid that the men of the Imperial Japanese Army would defile her body and to take her head as a trophy she asked her sister Yuko to cut of her head. Her head was buried at Hokai Temple underneath a pine tree. A monument was erected in her honour next to her grave. During the Aizu Autumn Festival a group of young girls take part in a procession wearing hakama and white headbands commemorate the actions of Nakano and her band of women fighters of the Joshigun.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Warriors of the Past

"Next".

Takeko blinked her eyes, where was she? She panted as she felt the antagonising pain of her wounds, she stared ahead where a foreign man sat by a desk smoking to what she thought was tobacco. The blood stained sky and rustic landscape was no more but instead she stood in a white pristine corridor filled with countless doors, all different from one another. All she could hear was the scribbling of his pen and the dripping of blood from her wounds, no longer able to hold her own weight she slouched against one of the countless doors.

"Who are you?" Takeko said looking up with some effort at the foreigner. She assumed that this was some sort of intersection to the Land of the Dead, but she had a nagging feeling that it wasn't quite that. Because if she had actually did, then why did she still feel so much pain like a mortal being.

The man did not answer her, he looked up but after that he continued to write down something. To Takeko's surprise the solid door behind her dissolved into a mass of black, she had never seen that before, her eyes widening in shock as she tried to move away but half of her body had already been sucked in. Deciding that it wasn't going to change anything if she struggled she let the darkness swallow her up. She closed her eyes, she did not know what happened but she found herself in a forest, falling back she hit her head on the ground. She let out an involuntary yelp in shock.

It was soft, the grass blades tickled her face as she pulled herself together. She looked around, her wounds continued to ooze blood and if she didn't stop it she would most certainly die, _again_. She gasped out in pain as she tightened her bandages, they were soaked in blood but it was all she had. She grasped onto a nearby tree branch and steadied herself on her feet. Once her thoughts had become orientated she took her time to survey where she was, taking every detail and sound. Nothing escaped from her eyes. She noticed that the trees that surrounded her were not from her home country, Japan. They were different, perhaps from the western lands. But how? Was she either in one of the westerns lands or were they transported here. But to grow in such a significant amount in a short amount of time, nothing made sense. Deciding that it was best not to think about it too much she returned her attention to her belongings.

To her happiness all her weapons were still with her, strapping the rifle and naginata to her back she began walking to higher ground, it would be best for her to at least know where she was. Perhaps she was in the forests of Mount Fuji, it did seem possible, but the further she walked the less likely it seemed. She re-tightened her bandages with a grunt she tied the cloth around her tighter, restricting the blood flow. She had to thank her sister for the plants which numbed some of the pain but not all of it. She had to hum to herself in order to keep her mind away from the pain of her wounds.

Each step she took sent a jolt of pain across her body, gritting her teeth she pushed the pain to the back of her head. Getting up to higher ground was a such a pain, she never even thought that climbing up a hill could be so painful but then again she had over a dozen wounds on her body. She grimaced at the thought of having scars across her body but she knew she would get over them. Her skin had great healing properties, a lot of cuts she got as a child didn't stay around for long and there wasn't always scars. But she knew that this time there would for sure be scars.

* * *

"I told you I am Nasu Suketaka Yoichi, that is me and no-one else. ", a young boy said dully once again. He couldn't believe the gall of this old man, he had repeated the same thing over again and again it had gotten to the point of annoyance. He was so close to shoving an arrow up the old man's ass, he let out a huff of impatience. His blue eyes glinting against the sun, as he gazed at the man before him. The old man smelt of blood but there was also this other smell he couldn't quite identify, but he knew he didn't like.

"And how the hell am I supposed to know you? Your name was Oda Nobunaga right? Who the hell are you?" Yoichi shouted back at the old man, who hell was he?! "What the hell is the Minister of the Right?!" If anyone was crazy that it was the old man, not him. The two males glared at each other for some times before realising that there was no point inf arguing with each other, it got them nowhere and they were just wasting their energy.

"Argh fine, fine! This is just too tiresome", the old man grunted out in frustration, he couldn't care less about who was who now. If this brat insisted that was his name then so be it, he could then be Amatsu Mikaboshi right? He didn't know where he was, he was tired and he wanted to know where the hell was Ranmaru. Nothing made sense anymore, there was this random stone fortress right in front of him and there was this kid claiming to be a great warrior who was from the eleventh century. But he knew one thing for sure, he wasn't dead, this kid was also persistent on the fact that he too had to return back to his battle.

There was a snap of a branch and the sound of someone breathing heavily, Yoichi and Oda drew out their respective weapons. They were in unknown territory with only themselves, in retrospective they were forced to work with one another. Yoichi pulled the string even tighter as Oda cocked up his musket, whoever or whatever was there wasn't going to have a nice surprise.

Takeko stumbled out from the thicket in surprise, she didn't expect flat ground as she fell forward. At the very last moment grabbing onto a nearby branch, preventing a painful fall. She heard something tear, making her cough out more blood. Yoichi and Oda widened their eyes in surprise, they didn't expect a woman, they were caught off guard but the did not lower their weapons. Takeko coughed as she pulled herself steady, blood dripping from her wounds her gaze sharpening onto two men. One old and one young, their weapons aimed at her. She was threatened, so using whatever energy she had she drew out her own. She entwined her arm the pole of the naginata and she steadied herself, she felt blood leak out from her. She was just taken away from the heat of a battle, her mind was hazed. She couldn't quite think straight but all she knew was that if there was enemy she would cut him down.

Oda peered at female, heavily wounded, battle gear, a rifle strapped to her back. But despite all of that there was the feeling of blood lust within the air, coming from her. The stance she took and how she tread reminded him of a wounded animal ready to attack with nothing to lose. Yoichi felt the same, it was easy to tell that the female was an experienced fighter. Both men knew not to underestimate a female, especially one who was fighting to the bone. But a remaining question hung in the air, they all probably didn't know each other so why were they aiming their weapons at each other.

Yoichi took a larger interest, she looked close to his age but when he saw her eyes he knew that they were the same. They were underestimated by age but definitely not talent, he also took note to her eyes. They were a strange colour, it was a metallic copper that shimmered strangely. And for her hair, it was the blackest of black and it when it reflected the suns light it reminded him of the night sky. She was such a woman to behold, drenched in blood with wild cropped hair flying past her neck. She looked like a rabid dog.

"Oh screw this", Takeko muttered tiredly, she couldn't keep herself up anymore. She had practically nothing left to fight for anymore, all she knew was that she was far from home and that she was probably going to die again. She threw down her weapon, "This is stupid", she murmured before falling towards the ground. There was a heavy thudding sound as her body hit the ground, blood slowly pooling around her body. She fell unconscious, she had spent all of her energy and now she didn't know where she was going to end up.

"O-Oi!" Oda cried out as he dropped his own weapon, they could worry about who was who later but there was a wounded person in front of them and most likely another leading clue to where the hell they were at. Yoichi withdrew his own arrow and follwed after Oda quickly. He flipped the woman over slowly, "Shit", Oda muttered, since they were at a distance they couldn't quite see how injured she was. But now at a closer inspection she was practically dying, and without medical attention she would be lost to the both of them. Many cuts along the torso and arms, and a huge gaping hole in the upper area of her chest.

"You grab the legs, I'll take the torso", Oda grunted as they slowly pulled the fallen maiden from the ground. Yoichi took her legs grabbed them, one leg for each arm. The did this so there would be no more tearing of wounds.

"So we're saving her?" Yoichi questioned as they stumbled back to inside of the stone fortress.

"Shut up and just do as I say", Oda snapped.

* * *

"So who do you think she is", Yoichi claimed as he poked at her face lightly. She twitched slightly but didn't give much response than that. Their unknown guest was beautiful underneath all the grime and blood, but it took them some time to decide who would be the one to shed her clothing and bandages. Yoichi finally won out because of his age and that Oda was an utter pervert so he knew that he could be tempted to do something more. Yoichi did his best to avert his eyes but it was inevitable that they would have to gaze upon her bare skin.

"How would I know, the only thing we can confirm is that she is with the Aizu domain and there must be some sort of huge war that she participated in. But then again, the Land of Rising Sun was always in some sort of war. Another one just means a new ruler and a lot of dead people", Oda said sarcastically. He chewed on a stalk of grass, he craved for something to smoke but for now the stalk of grass gave his mouth something to do. They had went through her stuff, she wasn't carrying a lot in the beginning so it was hard to identify who she was. They knew she of a high social status, they knew that she was trained warrior, they knew that she of the Aizu clan and that was pretty much it. They both didn't recognise who she was and there was this inkling feeling that she too was also of a different period of time.

Takeko was dreaming, in a far away land where only the dead could reach. It wouldn't be until four days later would she reawaken only to have Oda and Yoichi question heavily.

* * *

"I've told you who I am and the date which I last remember", Takeko deadpanned as she scratched her head, "I'm not going to tell anymore because it's not necessary, I don't even know if you guys are real as well. After all, the both of you are meant to be dead", Takeko sighed as she fell back into the makeshift bed, her wounds still hurt her but Oda had enough experience when dealing with bullet wounds so the surgery was a success.

"Nakano Takeko, 1868", Oda murmured as he let out a heavy sigh. That didn't help, it just made them even more confused, each one of them thinking that each other were not real. But if there was thing that was clarified was that they all met the same man, the one in that strange hallway. It gave them better understanding that perhaps the castle which they were sleeping wasn't even from the world which they knew.

"So how do we get back?" Yoichi said absentmindedly, Oda and Takeko both fell silent. They all had a dreading feeling that they were all sent here for a purpose and that it would be quite impossible to go back from where they came from, let alone their own timeline. Oda wanted to go back more than Takeko and Yoichi, unlike those two he still had many more ambitions and unfinished goals. His work was not yet done, but he knew it was much too late for his age. Takeko had already fallen back to sleep, her dreams consisted of her playing her koto.

Yoichi realising that he wasn't going to get any response decided to retire to bed as well, leaving Oda by himself. Oda was left to his own thoughts and most of them were quite cynical.

* * *

Shimazu Toyohisa will appear in the next chapter.

Amatsu Mikaboshi - god of evil

The cover picture is my imagining of my OC, Takeko. Drew it myself so if anyone wants to use it you will have to ask me first.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Red Clad Samurai

Edited: 29/06/2016

* * *

Takeko silently watched the wounded man as he slept taking note of his complexion, most of its colour had returned but his stitches were yet to fully join his cuts and wounds. When he arrived he had more wounds than she when she first arrived in this world, Takeko thought that he was a dead man already but Oda reassured her that he had a faint pulse. A miracle Takeko thought, however he had been asleep for several days without any signs of waking up. She looked to her left where Oda sat there quietly, he was studying their new visitor and by the looks of it he did not know him.

Takeko returned her attention back towards the wounded man, his face was contorted in pain. A bad dream perhaps Takeko thought; she continued to mend the man's clothes. So many holes and rips; sewing the ripped fabric was already a tedious task but washing she did before was more laborious. When washing she had to be extra careful so she wouldn't damage the clothing any further. Thankfully the cloth was already dyed red so the stains she couldn't remove blended in well enough. What had this man had done in the other world to inflict so much damage on himself?

* * *

" _Toyohisa! Toyohisa! You got a warrior's head in your very first battle?! You are great! A great youngster indeed!" His father laughed and grinned ear to ear shaking his hands with the young man. The young man had never looked so pleased, getting praised by his father was all he really needed. His father's approval was something that every single son would yearn for and he was no different, he was simpleton after all._

" _Toyohisa!" His father called out to him again with a warm smile. Toyohisa focused on his father's face, no. Something was not right. His father was smiling, but his father already long gone._

"DAD!" Toyohisa suddenly shouted in shock, he jolted upwards and almost winced in pain. Where was this?! Who hand mended his wounds?! He looked around the dimly lit stone room seeing two black figures within the shadows, he narrowed his eyes at the larger figure. He felt like a cornered animal, and he didn't like that feeling. He bared his teeth as he shifted away from the figure. He looked around for his stuff, where was his gun and sword?

"Oh, so you did wake up. Rather tough man. You wounds have just been stitched up. Better not to move, or else you'll die", the largest of the shadows said. The flickering of the flames light revealed the man's form but not his face. Out of instinct Toyohisa went for his sword which he found was conveniently right next to him. He quickly unsheathed his blade and pointed the tip right at the man's collar-bone. Oda clicked his tongue, this man was much like Takeko, but a little more violent.

"Who are you?! Who the hell are you?!" Toyohisa angrily yelled at the figure, his muscles were tense and any given moment he was prepared to take the man's head off. He was in an unknown territory with unknown people and he didn't like the odds of it. If he were to fight in this space he could see himself winning but at what cost? The mysterious man leaned forward revealing his face, it was time worn and he was unshaven. The eye-patch as well did not make him look anymore sincere or welcoming.

"Who am I? I'm asking the same question. Who are you?" The old man said mocking, his lips upturned in a sort of jeering grin. Toyohisa looked upwards a little to see a matchlock barrel aimed right at his head. He narrowed his eyes, so the old man wasn't senile. How sharp. Toyohisa felt from the years of experience that the man before him was not someone to be trifled of, there was the smell of gunpowder all over him and that sinister grin the old man was something he had seen before. Only madmen would grin such a way.

"Answer me. Who are you and where are you from?" The old man continued, his grin still in place but his eyebrows had furrowed little creating wrinkles and giving him a more menacing look. Oda had a faint idea of where he may come from now by hearing his accent, each region had their own dialect but it was still a little hard for him to tell. Toyohisa widened his eyes, noticing a proudly hung cloth that hung from one of the walls behind the old man.

"That 'mokko' family crest…are you a man from the house of the Oda?" Toyohisa said while gritting his teeth, he still had the sword pointed at the old man's neck. The house of Oda was sparse and few now considering what happened almost eighteen years ago. All men who were left was killed by the betrayers, and they were no longer in the position of power. His eyebrows knitted up in frustration, who on earth was the old man?!

"A man from the house of the Oda?!" The old man said, his lips upturned into a mocking smirk. The brat was a idiot, as if anyone could claim the man. He was the one who raised his clan from the ashes of the battlefield, he crafted the finest soldiers and took the battlefield with a storm. His name used to leave trembles within the hearts of men. He looked down upon the brat who dared to point his blade at him. "Are you an oaf? I am Oda and Oda is me", he said with a wide grin. He cocked up his gun, and pushed the gun closer to his head. He was no-one else that himself, and he would not be looked down upon by some samurai.

Takeko got up slowly, slinking around from the shadows as she tried to put down the now patched up shirt next to the rest of his stuff. She didn't want to draw any attention to herself but she had a feeling she would get caught, and so she did. Toyohisa caught his eyes on her, his sword also rapidly pointed in her way. She gave him a strained smile as she dropped his clothes next to him and scurried back to Oda's side. That man was much to scary for her liking, his eyes was of a warrior's but not as a soldier, but more a true samurai. Something she hadn't seen in years.

"Who the hell are both of you?!" He shouted at the two of them. He did not expect a woman to appear out of nowhere and give him such an awkward smile, if he didn't know any better that girl was asking a death wish. Beads of sweat travelled from his forehead. Never in his life had he ever met someone so audacious! And it was as if he didn't even hear him as the old man repeated himself.

"I am Nobunaga. Oda ufu Nobunaga", he declared. The light that came from the flames flickered from a sudden gust of wind that flooded the room, the sudden change in light created long drawn out shadows onto the so-called Oda giving him a sinister image. Toyohisa never felt more outraged, his face was contorted in rage and without any hesitation he swung his sword in a terrifying speed with deathly precision. Oda swung his head back quickly to narrowly dodge the sharp bladel, the flying silver shortening a couple strands of hair. At this point Takeko head her breath for a moment, because she was so close to Oda the blade nicked her own throat. Toyohisa gagged out in his own surprise. Takeko touched her neck, small beads of blood welled up from the cut. Takeko swiped her finger across the cut, staining her finger red.

Her eyes narrowed at the sight of blood, "Blood...", Takeko muttered softly, "It's always so hard to wash out", she felt small beads of blood well up from the cut and slowly dribble down. Using her own sleeve she dabbed the cut for a couple seconds before getting up and leaving to the other side of the room with a small scowl. Toyohisa's eyes followed her for a moment, his words stuck in his throat not too sure what he should say.

"That was dangerous. You really are an oaf", Oda said tauntingly, his face covered by the shadows. "You almost took off my head and you cut her neck", Oda said mockingly as he peered at the girl who was fiddling with some cleans rags to bandage her cut skin.

'You are the oaf! You say you are Nobunaga?! Lord Nobunaga has been dead for so many years now! Henceforth, here must indeed be the Netherworld! And you must be a devil trying to deceive me with your Nobunaga talk!" Toyohisa angrily shouted out at the self-proclaimed war lord. How could any of this be true, even for a joke this was simply to far. Oda was about to yell back right at him but before he could even open his mouth an arrow came flying right in-between them and lodged itself in the stone.

"Stop it", a young voice said. Yoichi could not believe it, he hadn't been gone for too long and he came back to see two angry men pointing their weapons at each other and Takeko already have another wound. Both men turned their attention to the newcomer, his figure was shrouded in the darkness. Takeko looked up to see Yoichi and stood up to give him a helping hand. The boy had left several hours earlier to go hunting. He walked casually past the samurai as if not aware of the high running tension around the room that the two men had created. Takeko following him as she wrapped the torn fabric around her neck.

"Are you awake? That's good news indeed", Yoichi said indifferently to the samurai. He scanned the room for a moment, there was a little bit of commotion but not so bad. Oda was a little ruffled but alright, Takeko had already thought past from the violence. Toyohisa didn't even have an answer to the arrival of this new stranger, all he could do was stare awkwardly while sweat nervously. Who on earth were these people!? Where on earth were these crazy people popping up from?

"Pluck these feathers off", Yoichi said while thrusting the bird by its neck to Oda. It was still squawking pathetically, in its last few minutes of life. "You too Takeko, what happened to your neck?" Yoichi threw her a bird and indicated to his own neck as a reference. Takeko pointed to Toyohisa and didn't say anything else.

"Hmm, I see", Oda said while looking at the pathetic bird still squawking pitifully. He took of the bird and began to pluck its feathers off, while Toyohisa could only watch in annoyance and surprise. Not only that but he felt tad guilty for cutting that girl's neck, even though it was an honest accident but as he watched her it seemed she already didn't care. But honestly what this fuck was he doing, was this man actually senile or something?

"Do you have your hands free?" Yoichi said to Toyohisa. He didn't care who the hell this man was, but if there was work to be done then he was to participate as well. And if it did come down to a fight, then he knew that the wounded warrior was the one to lose.

"Uh…yes", he said indifferently. Why did he need his hands free anyways?

"Pluck the feathers off", the archer casually said while holding out a bird for him to take. Takeko looked at the three men sitting side by side plucking the feathers off a bird, the just awoken samurai was more or less casual about his new situation but his expression said all.

"What the fuck is this?"

* * *

When the fire was burning strong and all of the birds had been plucked and cleaned out and was now roasting by the fire; a some-what friendly conversation was struck up by Oda.

"You said that Nobunaga died. So, people do really assume that I died then", Oda said with brows furrowed. He already knew he was meant to be a dead person, but he didn't get much information from Takeko who kept much of the future to herself. He cursed her and her whimsical ways, that girl was the so strange sometimes. It was hard to think of her as a female with the way she acted.

"Right! He is dead! He was betrayed and killed by his servant Akechi and his hosts in the Honnouji Temple in Kyoto. That was eighteen years ago!" Toyohisa said angrily, he gritted his teeth frustration. He knew because his very own father went to the funeral, he was still a child when Oda had passed on but he knew for sure that he was a dead man. Oda Nobunaga was already dead! There was no way he could come back to life!

"Wha…" Oda widened his eye, he stood up abruptly. "Do not say nonsense! Eighteen years ago?! Less than six months have passed since that kumquat head assaulted Honnouji and I was sent to this world!" Oda yelled out loud pointing an accusing finger at the wounded samurai. But now that he thought about it perhaps time moved differently here, Takeko herself was from a different century.

"Feh. That's what I'm saying, that you are a devil from the other world or a wandering ghost. Or perhaps you are simply an ordinary folk gone mad", Toyohisa said blandly, his dry tone infuriated Oda who was on the verge of thrashing the brat. Takeko and Yoichi looked at each before they both burst out into laughter, how silly was this man. They may had also been like that at first but they were more rational to think it through first at least.

"Heh heh heh. Hahahahaha!" Yoichi laughing uncontrollably was ticking off Toyohisa and it was pissing him off. He felt that he was left out from knowing something. But Yoichi soon stopped and he leaned towards Takeko to whisper something in her ear. She nodded furiously in agreement as she pointed to her own neck. Toyohisa eyed the young boy and the young female; the boy had a some-what gleeful and sneering expression on his face and the woman next to him had a rather pleasant expression of happiness or was it content? "For me, it is just too funny to see you making such a big deal for an insignificant matter like ten or fifteen years", Yoichi said gleefully as he stood up and walked towards the open doorway.

"And…who are you…?" Toyohisa while narrowing his eyes ever so slightly. He had enough of games and little secrets, if there was something to be known then he wanted to know. Because right now nothing made sense and all he wanted right now was to return the that blood stained field so he could continue with his battle.

"Tell him. Tell him", Oda said impatiently letting out a frustrated sigh. Takeko hummed in agreement.

"I am Yoichi. Nasu no Suketaka Yoichi. That is my name", the archer said with a mocking smile on his face. Toyohisa's eyes broadened substantially, he now began to question his sanity.

"Don't lie to me! He's a man of the war between the Genji and Heike clans! That was some four hundred years ago! It's just too absurd a story to believe!" Toyohisa screamed out loud, he panted as he was short of breath but the absurdity and audacity of these two men shocked and infuriated him all at the same time. He clenched his fists tightly to relieve some tension from his body. Although there were no documented descriptions of the man, he was generally thought to be a middle aged man in his thirties or forties who died valiantly in a war. Not a brat kid with long hair who looked more of a girl than a guy!

"Hmm…as absurd as it may seem, I am I. And you yourself should be dead, you said yourself you came from a time eighteen years ahead of Nobu right?" Yoichi said casually.

"Yes and what of it?" Toyohisa said irritably, what more could there be?

"Well, it is our lady over there that should be more shocked. For in her eyes, all of us should be dead", Yoichi said while pointing to Takeko. She looked up from her daze, before tilting her head and blinking owlishly.

"Who is he again?", Takeko said absentmindedly, her eyes glazed as her mind began to wonder far and beyond. She wasn't quite sure what she was thinking of, but she knew it was taking most of her thought processes.

"Who are you?" Toyohisa asked once more, his patience was wearing thin.

"Her name is Nakano Takeko, she's from a far distant future. More specifically 1868", Oda muttered, Takeko threw a small bone at his head.

"I didn't need you to say that Nobu", Takeko said as she leaned back against the cold wall.

"That's…that's…impossible! How are you even…?" Toyohisa couldn't even finish off what he wanted to say, he could only stare at the lithe woman who sat still who returned his stare with a stare of her own. Before sticking out her tongue like a child and turning away.

"This is a dream! A bad dream for sure!" Toyohisa said furiously, he was sweating profusely. This could not be happening!

"And you? Who are you?" Oda said while sitting back down on the stone ledge, he was getting bored of this little charade. He already had enough of this, Takeko was tolerable at least and she was well-mannered.

"Shimazu Toyohisa! Son of Shimazu Iehisa!" Toyohisa proclaimed loudly, it was a name he was extremely proud of, his heritage was something that he could hold his head high to.

"Shimazu…? Who…? Oh I see! That clan from Kyushu? That edge of Japan?" Oda seemed to have a makeshift map of Japan appear behind him, he pointed the very outmost islands of Japan, "Those incredibly provincial guys? Have to admit that they never came into my attention", he said blandly.

"I'll kill you!" Toyohisa shouted angrily, oh how badly he wanted to punch the old man in his face.

"I have also heard about Lord Shimazu. They were already present in my era as well", Yoichi said casually with a fond smile. Toyohisa turned his head to the young archer. "If I am not mistaken, he was a person from the outer rim of Kyushu. Oh that means that the Shimazu are provincial generation after generation", Yoichi said in surprise. He let himself ponder over his words for a moment, as Toyohisa drew out his sword in an attempt to cut the archer in half.

"I! Will! Kill you! All!" Toyohisa cried out, he held out his sword menacingly.

Suddenly Takeko exclaimed out loud in revelation frightening the three men, "Ah! I know who you are". She pointed a finger at his clothes, "I thought that cross was all too familiar. Aren't you the guy who tried to fend off an entire army with only a vanguard?" Takeko exclaimed excitedly as she clapped her hands in accomplishment. "I read about that it in one of my books, at that time I thought it was extremely heroic but also really dumb. So I had the impression that you were an idiot! And I was right!" Takeko said proudly.

Yoichi and Oda burst out in laughter, especially Oda who repeatedly slapped his knee as his bellows of laughter were leaving him short of breath.

"I WILL KILL YOU ESPECIALLY!" Slashing his sword in the air threateningly, Takeko swiftly moved to hind behind Oda. She had angered a wild dog, her eyes never leaving his sword.

Yoichi scoffed for a moment, "You will die if you move so vigorously, may I remind you that you have just been stitched". Toyohisa at that moment finally felt his body give him a tearing pain trembling through his flesh and bone. Blood seeping through his bandages, dripping from the over-soaked fabric. He clicked his tongue irritably.

"A tough man…well, sit down", Oda said while gesturing for the samurai to sit down. He looked at the old man in annoyance but complied and sat back down on the cold stone.

"Nobunaga…right?" Toyohisa said hesitantly, still not sure if he should believe what these people said.

"Indeed", Oda answered.

"Weren't you killed in the Honnouji Temple? You were supposed to be dead!" Toyohisa said still in disbelief that this legendary war lord could be still alive.

"Hah. Do you think that I would allow myself to be killed by that bald idiot? I was running from the temple with Ranmaru, in order to flee from the temple. And then I came up to a weird 'place'. It was a weird corridor, paved with stones and the walls were full of doors. And in the midst of the corridor, there was that strange man", Oda said distantly. His eyes half-lidded as if trying to remember what the strange man looked like.

"The same happened to me. I also met that man", Yoichi said deciding to stand up and see how dark it was outside.

"A foreigner who sits by a desk, he is the one who send us to this world", Takeko said absentmindedly, her fingers twining around the strands of her hair.

"I have also met that man too! In the middle of retreating from the crucial battle in Sekigahara!" Toyohisa cried out in surprise, he was now certain that these people could be trusted. They had all met that strange man of the corridor, and they had all been taken away from a battle.

"Sekigahara? You mean that place in Mino?" Oda questioned.

"Yeah. A huge battle between the Tokugawa forces and the Ishida forces", Toyohisa said plainly as if it was common knowledge, forgetting that Oda had already left the world eighteen years prior so he wouldn't have any idea what he was talking about.

"HUH?! Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait! Why would Tokugawa battle in such a place?" Oda shouted out, holding out a hand. Who was Ishida Oda thought for a moment, that tea guy?

"Why…? Because after the death of the Kanpaku, the world has gone back to the Sengoku era!" Toyohisa stated. Takeko coughed a little ad tried to indicate that Toyohisa should stop talking, but Toyohisa didn't get the gist.

"'Kanpaku'? Why on earth would a Kanpaku rule the world?!" Oda yelled aloud, still not understanding what Toyohisa said.

"Because the Kanpaku has taken over the world. The Kanpaku named Hideyoshi", Toyohisa said plainly getting a little tired of explaining everything to the old man.

"Wait a damn freaking second! Why would that bald mouse be able to take over the world?!" Oda suddenly roared aloud, he had no fucking clue on what happened in the other world since he came to this world.

"To hell with you! I'm fed up with explaining! He killed Akechi, exterminated Shibata and yes too over the world! Yes, he, Hideyoshi!" Toyohisa bellowed back, he had enough with the shitty old man and his ignorance!

"Ka…Katsuie was killed?! And what about Oichi?!"

"How the hell should I know?!"

"And what about Niwa and Kazumasu?! And Toshii?!"

"Who are you talking about?! The Oda clan is a lowly servant of the Tokugawa now! Nobody remembers that 'Tenka Fubu' stuff anymore!" Toyohisa proclaimed loudly.

"WHAT!?" Oda yelled, "And Nobutada…? What happened to…my son…?" Oda said hesitantly, despite asking he already had a feeling that he knew the answer.

"…He is dead! His Nijo castle was sieged by Mitsuhide! He thought you were dead, so he fought 'till the bitter end!" Toyohisa said, most people would spare another's feelings but he was not one of them. The truth was something that people had to accept, hiding the truth would only hurt the person even more.

"Takeko, you knew of this didn't you", Oda called out to Takeko. She sat by the flames, she looked up to see the war lord.

"Yes", she said with a straight face, she did not avert her eyes but stared right back at Oda.

"And you did not tell me…?" Oda said, casting a dark look down on the woman. "Is this the reason why you avoided talking about this subject the last six months?"

"If that is what you to believe so", she said. Neither did she sound guilty but in the first place she had no obligation to tell him anything. She averted her gaze and let out a sigh.

"Hahaha! Hahaha! What a foolish son! That fool…that fool…" Oda said, if one saw him they would describe only as regretful. Not pitiful, no. Oda was much too proud, even to laugh off his own son's death, but what a bland and tasteless laugh it was. "He should have ran away sooner! Hahaha, they said that a man lives for fifty years. But my fifty years…were all in vain, it seems", he looked downwards as if trying to remember a distinct memory. But it was a fleeting memory.

"Nothing lasts forever. I was also surprised to hear from Lord Nobunaga that the Genji clan has been exterminated and the Kamakura Shogunate was over", Yoichi said with a sad smile. He certainly had his good times when he was still in the other world but now it seemed like a far distant past which they would never be able to return to.

"…Since you said that you were Nobunaga, when I saw this other man…I thought he was that famous Mori Ranmaru", Toyohisa said hesitantly, not really sure if he should be saying this. "More than that, I thought he was a woman…" Takeko spluttered out some water from her mouth, she was coughing heavily that Yoichi had to come over and hit her back.

"Don't jinx him..." Takeko said as she regained her breath, she gave Toyohisa a astounded expression.

"It would be great if he was Ranmaru", Oda said with a cheeky smile on his face.

Takeko reached for more bandages and threw them in Toyohisa's direction, he caught them in reflex. When he turned to thank her, she had already retreated into another stone room.

* * *

Toyohisa threw his sheets off and made a grab for his sword, he could probably sleep through anything but if there was one smell he could never ignore, it was the smell of smoke tainted with the smell of blood and the call of a fight.

"You noticed?" Yoichi said while standing by the door, he looked beyond the forest.

"What's this 'smell'?" Toyohisa said whilst holding onto his katana. It was a tantalising smell, drawing him in, calling out to him.

"It's the smell of battle", Oda said. He furrowed his eyebrows, where could there be a battle? Unless,"Smoke is rising. It's from the village of them 'elves', beyond the forest", Oda said curling his lips into a grimace. He went over to Takeko nudging her rib lightly. "Time to wake up", Oda cooed as he watched her slowly get into a sitting position.

"Can't you let me sleep?" Takeko muttered irritably, letting out a large teary yawn.

* * *

Edited: 30/06/2016


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Arise You Who are Abused

"Thieves or bums?" Yoichi asked looking at the smoke rise above the tree tops, it had been so long since he felt the calling of a fight. Although he wasn't too sure if he wanted to fight or he just wanted to see the splatter of blood.

"It's the village across the forest, where the strange ones live. You know, the ones with the long ears that brought you here. They're called 'elf', or so what Takeko calls them", Oda said dryly watching uninterested as the smoke rose even higher. Before Oda could say anything else Toyohisa made a dash for it, running towards the aflame village. Oda widened his one good eye in surprise as Toyohisa took off. Toyohisa's running form slowly disappearing through the darkness of the trees.

"Ah! Hey! Wait! You're going?" Oda called out to him, still surprised at his eagerness to find out what was beyond the forests. He himself had little interest in the strange ones, neither did Takeko. All she did at most was watch from afar on the tree tops when she had nothing else to do. It was only Yoichi who took it up for himself to learn their strange language.

"I have no idea where I am or what's happening, whether this is a dream or reality. That's why, the only thing I can do is charge in!" Toyohisa yelled as he ran forward, his sword was already drawn out as if he knew of the impending fight that he was about to face. With only the moonlight to guide him he weaved in and out of the trees towards the village of strange ones. He could feel the same calling which enticed him time and time again. It was a calling he could deny, and each time it took him tumbling towards Death.

"…That fool. Even though he was just on the verge of death. That guy, with a bullet or something", Oda said with frown but after a moment passed he shared a knowing smile with Yoichi. The two looked at each other for a moment and without saying anything both of them moved out.

"Alright!" Oda cried out grabbing his matchlock, by his side Yoichi took out his bow and the both of them began to run after Toyohisa. Takeko was still sitting on the blankets whilst slowly stretching her body, her eyes following their disappearing forms.

"Why do they go looking for trouble?" Takeko mumbled as she got up and left to retrieve her own weapon. She was in no rush, she didn't want to fight anyone, she was on no bad terms with anyone and neither did she have any ambitions. She didn't have that fire passion which those three possessed. And so she moved at her own pace.

"Slow. You're slow, Oda Nobunaga. What's wrong, Demon King?" Toyohisa said mockingly with a sneering grin, Oda was undoubtedly slower than the two men who ran several meters ahead of him. Oda scowled as he tried to pull his knees higher up, he couldn't help being slower, he was at that age where his body began to deteriorate without his own willing.

'Shut up! I'm already in forties stupid", Oda said while panting. It had been a while since he moved so vigorously and he had already begun to sweat.

"Toyohisa-dono. Your age?" Yoichi asked while running beside him.

"Thirty", Toyohisa stated with a sharp voice.

"What of your age Takeko-san?" Yoichi asked turning his head behind only to notice that there was no-one, "Eh? Where is she?" Toyohisa and Oda both looked around searching for the maiden only to find darkness and trees.

"I'm twenty-one", Takeko called. Yoichi looked up to see her jumping from tree branch to tree branch, her eyes never looking away from her next branch. But every now and then her legs would wobble from the thinness of some branches. The three men's initial surprise quickly wore off considering they had already seen some outrageous scenarios in their life.

Yoichi pumped his fist into the air with a triumphant grin on his face, he was younger than all three of them being only nineteen years old.

"What's with that smug and victorious look!?" Toyohisa shouted at Yoichi, suddenly feeling irritated by his mocking smirk.

"Heeheehee", Yoichi laughed even harder, his smirk widened even further.

"He's completely different from the Genji's war record", Oda said with a wide grin. All of them immediately stopped talking realising the incoming footsteps, from a distance two young children came running towards them. The children upon seeing the men began to shout out at them, however neither of the men could understand what they were shouting out about. Right behind the two children a horse and its rider reared up, the riders gleaming silver blade was all they needed to know. An enemy, two men followed the horse with their swords also brandished out.

Takeko stopped at one tree and gently jumped down but remained hidden. Toyohisa sped up, he ducked down at the very last moment though and from behind Oda had his matchlock aimed right at one of them armed men. Time stood for one moment, there was this almost inaudible click of the trigger, a resounding bang followed as smoke rose from the barrel and a small glistening ball rocketed through the air. The riders head shattered, shattered shards of metal flew in different directions, and explosion of blood painted the nearby trees and ground. Everything happened in a moment and no-one but the Drifters knew what was happening.

The horse reared up in fright, the now dead rider was flung back, the body crashing onto the floor and crumpled underneath the mares hooves. The mare anxiously looked around and pawed the ground with its hooves and once it saw a chance to escape it did so, however Takeko ran after the disorientated horse keen on keeping the horse for their purposes whatever it may be.

Toyohisa took control of this confusion, this was his chance, and his would allow no-one to take it away from him. He ran, dragging his blade behind him, the long sword created great deep grooves in the earth and dust trails. The children stopped in their footsteps, their attention captured by this one man. With one great leap his flew for a moment.

"Hey there brats", he said with a smug grin. Upon landing in front one of the men he swung sword at a terrifying speed and cleanly cut the man in half by the torso. With no hesitation he swung around to pivot his next strike at the remaining man, an ear-splitting clang could be heard as the man barely was able to block to blade, the man's arms trembled from the shock and was surprised by the immense strength that the red clad warrior had.

"Give me you head! Give me your head! Come one!" Toyohisa shouted at the remaining man, he continued to push down harder. The man shouted something out at him but Toyohisa had no clue on what he said, he gritted his teeth in frustration. "Drifters! From the ruins! I don't understand. I have no idea what you're saying. Speak in Japanese! If you can't speak Japanese, then just die", Toyohisa scowled at the soldier and with a final shove he cut through the blade and relieved the man of his head. The head flew past the two elven children, the blood splattering onto them.

The two children cried out in shock as they saw the head roll past them. How could the Drifters be so calm after killing the soldiers, how could they be so indifferent to the bloodshed?! Were they next?!

Toyohisa towered the two whimpering children, the children's wide eyes filled with fear stared right up at him. They were afraid of dying, they had already seen so many of their kind die. They were scared, but at the same time mystified, strange men from a strange world. Fear and confusion ate them. Toyohisa stood still before speaking, "Strange ears. You boys saved me right? This time it's my turn", Toyohisa said with a surprisingly warm smile. They did not understand his words, but his sudden change in demeanour and his open smile made them feel differently. This man was truly terrifying, but at the same time he could make such a warmhearted smile. It was strange.

"You okay with those boys?" Oda loomed from behind with a taunting grin, "They don't speak Japanese either. I don't suppose they should 'just die'…" He snickered at Toyohisa who found himself contradicting his own words. Deciding to ignore the Demon Lord he turned his attention back to the elven children.

"'Tasukete~'. 'Please save me!'. Hurry up! Come on, say it!" Toyohisa suddenly yelled at the children, who were oblivious on what he was saying. Not knowing what to do they repeated the one word that the red clad man had continued to say

"Please save us?!" They shouted out afraid for their lives, the children shouted this one more time with no clue what they were saying.

"Problem solved!" Toyohisa yelled right back at them, trying to force the words into their vocabulary.

"He's really forcing it in", Yoichi said blandly edging away from the shouting samurai. Oda as well edged away from the idiotic brat who shouting his lungs out trying to make the children understand on what he was saying.

"What a crazy one sided persuasion", Oda said with a tired face. How did his father deal with such a stupid child?

Oda crouched down to inspect one of the bodies, they are just too well equipped. ' _They are no brigades'_ , Oda thought for a moment picking up one of the swords. ' _Soldiers, perhaps? Soldiers under the orders of the lord of the fief?'_ His lips were pulled into a sinister grin, it may not be the same world but all worlds had something it in to take away. ' _Fools!'_ He snickered, 'T _hey are just inviting me to take everything from them',_ he thought menacingly. He could feel something within him flare up again. something he felt in their world. Something he would never lose of, ambition.

"Takeko!" Oda called, looking around but was only met with silence. "Where did that girl go off to now?" The men shrugged, "Forget it, she will know where we are anyways. Alright. Well then. The village, let's go claim it".

* * *

"Setting wheat fields on fire?" Yoichi asked as he watched the fields go up in flames. The smell was really overpowering and he felt there a waste with burning so much food.

"Precisely. Even without any pride, people can live if they have food. Even without any food, people can endure if they have pride. But if they lose both, then they just don't care anymore. Then they _just rely on anything they can_ ", Oda said with a sinister smile. He thought about where this idea originated with a smirk. "This was the tactic used in that Honganji rebellion, and it gave me some hell of a trouble. And it's the best strategy to take over the country!" But then again this child was not from his time so he would not be able to understand where he was referring to.

"Fire is really great. It reminds me of the Ise Nagashime! Hahaha!" Oda said while laughing.

Yoichi gave a snort as he turned away leaving the Demon Lord to his own antics, as he lovingly gazed into the burning abyss, admiring his own handiwork.

* * *

Toyohisa's body ached, he desired to fight. He wanted the head of the enemy to proudly show off, he wanted the glory of winning a battle. His entire body craved to feel the warm blood splash against his skin and the coldness of his blade slice through his enemies. It was what he strove for, he couldn't care for money, position, land. He would do as he please, no-one could tie him down.

He ran across the burning wheat fields, making light of any flames which tickled his feet as the ground lit up behind him. His sword heating up from the residue heat around him. He finally made it to the village, catching sight of some armoured soldiers, Toyohisa leapt off the ground to gain sudden leverage and in a split second he brought down the blade of his sword and cleanly cut off the head of the first soldier who had run up in an attempt to stop him.

"First man down!" He cheered happily, now onto the next. Toyohisa himself was enjoying himself, despite his wounds stinging every now and then it didn't really bother him. He leapt from soldier to soldier slicing through them with ease and the power of a bull. But in all that time he was doing that he had his eyes on the big prize, the head of the general. Deciding that he had dawdled enough he side jumped right behind the general's back of the soldier's and decapitated a man who was in his way.

It was pure havoc, the soldier's scrambled to get out of the way of the red clad man. His blade dripped heavily with blood and he had a satisfied smile on his face. He stood right in front of the general several meters away who seemed to be shouting some sort of order but the soldier's payed to mind to him.

"Leave you head for me! Did you hear! Leave you general's head! It's a general's head right?!" Toyohisa bellowed, he pointed his finger right at the general with a wide smile planted on his face. If the soldier's did not give him what he wanted then he would do it himself. Now that he was a little calmer he started to take notice of his surroundings, scattered around him were bodies of the long ears. All dead, he narrowed his eyes. Children, men, all were dead. These elve with now weapons to fend for themselves. He was not a big fool not realise that this was their way of displaying power, childish and only a short term means of keeping serfs in control. Innocent only living their lives as they were told killed with no true greater meaning either than being a nuisance.

Toyohisa scowled, putting on a grimace, "How did you dare to do all that? Thinking twice, I don't want your head at all", he had lost his urge to kill this man. He was not worth to kill but neither was he not worth of a death. So he instead he would grant him a death befitting of him, he readied his blade.

The general seemed to talk of something, it was unknown to Toyohisa, but it fell deaf upon Toyohisa's ears.

Toyohisa took the hilt of his blade and rather slice the general up with it, he launched the sword aimed right at the general's face. Right after that he quickly ran forward right behind the blade as it went soaring through the air. As he predicted the general deflected the blade with a sneer on his face, but the sneer quickly turned into shock.

Toyohisa jumped right up into the air just as the general deflected the blade and took hold of the man, plummeting them both onto the ground. "Here I go!" With a wide grin he quickly secured himself above the general restricting his movements. As he sat atop he suddenly felt superior to the general who was just scorning him a moment before, "Heh! Hah. You are nothing". With haste he grabbed hold of his sheath, he posed the sheath right above his face. There were no words needed for what was going to happen. The commander spluttered out something but right before he could finish his sentence Toyohisa slammed the butt of the sheath into his face. Over and over again. A sickening crunch could be heard over and over again as he continued to ram the blunt end of the sheath into his face. Each time he raised the sheath the commander spewed out pleas, threats and anything to stop the pain. But again and again, Toyohisa relentlessly slammed the sheath into his face.

"With the sheath of his sword! That's part of the Japanese armoured fighting techniques! That's mean!" Oda said with a smirk, he had situated himself on top of one of the cottages roof. Watching from above in fascination, that brat was more sadistic than he had given him credit for. He turned at the sound of footsteps.

"Wow…he is scary", Yoichi said jumping onto the roof to stand next to him.

"Did you finish?" Oda said with a cunning smile.

"Yes, there are no more soldiers feeling from this battlefield", Yoichi said wickedly.

"He is scary, but you are scary too", Oda commented with a smirk. "So...I wonder, what will he do?"

Toyohisa slammed the sheath into the general's face several more times before stopping to take a breather. He straightened himself out and cracked his stiff neck from being in the same position for too long. The general managed to say a few unintelligible words, but it was more like as if he was asking for his death. His face had been bashed up so heavily, that you could not even see a slight trace of his original features. Everything had been contorted and broken.

Toyohisa looked around, the elven villagers had gathered around him cautiously. Some others had gathered around the dead elves grieving over their loss, Toyohisa eyed a particular one who seemed to be crying over the loss of his son. He narrowed his eyes and clicked his tongue, getting up and pulling his discarded sword from the ground he strode past the elf people, his walk purposeful. The elven people all afraid of what he was capable scurried away from way, they all shouted out in surprise.

He stopped in front of one, "Kill." Toyohisa held out his sword to an elderly elf who was mourning over the loss of his son. "Kill him", Toyohisa repeated pointing at the general who lay on the ground. The elf still not understand him shook his head in confusion.

"No, you will kill him. You have to kill him. It doesn't matter where we are and who you are. You will have to exact your revenge. This boy is telling you to avenge him!" Toyohisa yelled, indicating to the lifeless body, which he assumed as the elf's child.

They can't understand his words…yet they understand what he is talking Oda thought from above. "Damn that guy…" Oda said with a grin.

The elf slowly took hold of Toyohisa's sword with trembling hands but after a few moments he steeled resolve. The elves around him took hold of the dead soldiers' weaponry and farming tools around them, they too steeled their resolved. They began encircle around the general, an uprising had started. The general seemed to cry out at them, pleading for them to stop but they did not.

"Gaaaah!" A few gurgled screams and a splattering of blood could only be heard.

"Good!" Toyohisa said with a pleased smile, the elves seemed quite surprised to see the man who only moment ago was bashing a man's head of with a rather smile.

"Hiya! Good job!" Oda said coming out of nowhere, and slapped him on the back.

"Hmm? What the hell were you doing? My wounds haven't completely healed you know", Toyohisa said with an irritated voice.

"Wah, so much blood", the voice filled with disbelief and surprise. The elves parted way for her as she tread carefully, trying to avoid the blood. She quietly pulled the horse behind her, "Look at what I got! A horse!" Takeko cheered happily, she petted the horse softly, parting the mane from the horses' eyes.

"You missed out in all the fun Takeko", Yoichi chimed, "You should've seen what Toyohisa did".

She looked around with wide eyes, "No, I don't", she mumbled as she set her gaze up the many dead surrounding them.

"Well, leaving that aside, I bet you are tired. Please have a seat", Oda said to Toyohisa while gesturing at a wooden box. "I intended to sit there…but I will let you sit there instead". Toyohisa looked at him in confusion but complied, as he sat down on the box the Oda and Yoichi stood by his side behind. Takeko herself stood right behind Toyohisa and rested her arms on his shoulders as being a little drowsy from lack of sleep. And in front the elves had gathered in front of them in awe, they themselves did not know why they did so but they felt drawn to these mysterious people from the other world.

"Feh".

* * *

Hey, the fourth chapter is out! Yay! I own nothing but my OC and some other bits, but you don't need to worry about that.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Drifters Take Control!

"I can't get in contact with the Great Master. Wh...What shall I do? I really hope the North Wall hasn't fallen… Meanwhile those three stupid guys and one idiot woman are making such a mess. What should I do now?" The young girl said, she held onto her binoculars still trying to find the Drifters.

"Wouldn't be the first time I've been called an idiot", Takeko called from above. The young girl looked up to see a woman with long black hair, sitting comfortably on one of the tree branches. She held out her polearm so that the blade was next to the girl's neck, and unfortunately for the young girl the lighting was just right enough to make the woman's eyes seem red. The young girl's jaw dropped.

"Ahhhh, a demon!" She screeched. Takeko covered her ears at the sudden sound, what a loud scream. Just as the girl screamed two men jumped down from the tree tops behind her cutting off her escape.

"No wonder I had the feeling that someone was watching is. Who are you!?" Toyohisa yelled at the poor girl, his face could only be described as terrifying. The darkness of the night had did not help either, it only made him look more sinister.

"Uh…ah..eh…" The young girl stuttered for a moment before screaming her heart out, "Somebody help me! A 'kubu-oiteke' monster is trying to kill me!" She held her arm out as if expecting someone to come to her rescue.

"Who the hell is the monster?!" Toyohisa yelled at the frightened girl, having enough of her screaming he whacked her on the head to shut her up. "Hah!"

"Augh!" She coughed out falling face-flat onto the ground.

"Is she a spy?" Yoichi asked curiously.

"She is just too clumsy to be a spy…but first and most foremost of all. Hey Toyohisa", Oda called to the man.

"What?"

"She's speaking the language of the Rising Sun", Oda said with a deadpanned face.

"Oh, you're right! You're smart", Takeko cheered as she jumped from the branch.

"Oh! Hey you! Confess! Spit out everything you know!" Toyohisa shouted at the girl, towering over the girl.

"Nooo! Aahhh! Noooo! Help me! Don't kill me!" She yelled aloud, tears were just free running across her face. She was just here to report on their activities, she never even thought they would find her. She was praying to every God there was to spare her some mercy.

"If you don't tell me everything, I will leave you in his hands", Toyohisa said with a threatening voice as he indicated to Oda who stood behind him.

"Hello, I am the Demon Lord of the Sixth Heaven. I like arson and lass murder. I make toasts with the skulls of the men I kill", Nobunaga said proudly and for a moment seemed to be wearing his traditional warrior's clothing. He also had a cracked open skull in his right hand which seemed to drip with blood.

"AHH! I am Olmine! A magician and Octobrist! The Great Master ordered me to watch you! To watch you Drifter! Please help me!" She suddenly yelled aloud, very afraid for her life. How come these Drifters were even crazier than the ones they had back at the North Wall?!

Toyohisa for a moment tried to process the information which she had suddenly yelled out but failed, "I didn't understand a thing!" He shouted back at the poor girl, who stood there is shock.

"That fool is saying that he didn't understand! Explain so that a fool can understand as well!" Oda bellowed, pointing an accusing finger at the girl.

"You got to be kidding?!" Olmine wailed in despair, how much longer did she have to deal with these crazy people?!

"Who is the idiot?! Do you want to lose you head?!" Toyohisa shouted at the old man in annoyance.

"Oh, so you did listen after all. You are indeed that 'kubi-oiteke' monster then", Oda said with a straight face. Toyohisa growled at him, baring his teeth at the Demon Lord.

"I promise I won't hurt you", Takeko said as she crouched down in front of Olmine, "But that doesn't mean I can guarantee that they won't do something to you", she said gesturing to the three men behind her with menacing glares.

"Uh…well. In this world we call 'Drifters' men and women like you, who come from 'the other' world. And the job of the Octobrist Organisation is to keep an eye and gather those Drifters, and you can to fight. Fight against men called as 'Offscouring'", Olmine said. Expecting these Drifters at least to comply with many questions. All four of them looked at one another before answering the girl.

"To hell with that", Toyohisa said. He still didn't understand a damn thing.

"Nobody tells me what to do", Oda said plainly. Unless there was something in it for him, then there was no reason he should help them.

"No way", Yoichi called out, just too troublesome! Why did he have to fight a war on some else's behalf?

"Why?", Takeko said.

"WHAT!" Olmine screeched out, how could these Drifters call themselves humans if they were so heartless?!

* * *

Takeko carefully pulled the last of the rope around her, tightening it enough but not too much so it would hurt. "What were you saying earlier?" Takeko said as she stood up, dusting her hands.

"Umm, well we call as 'Drifter's every 'person' who was sent here from other worlds like you. Likewise we call as 'Offscourings' every 'evil being who forsake their humanity' and was sent here from other worlds. The goal of our Octobrist organization is to locate, watch and gather Drifters to fight against the Offscourings", Olmine explained, she fidgeted every now and then against the ropes. Kind regards from Oda who thought of tying her up.

"Uh…and could you untie me, please", Olmine asked with an exasperated sigh.

"Of course **not**. I can't understand a thing you are saying", Toyohisa stated. Takeko stared at this man, what did he not understand? The girl had explained everything so clearly so that even the most foolish could understand or did he not listen at all.

"Hahaha! My dear Olmine, you are getting it totally wrong. For I am the Demon Lord of the Sixth Heaven! You think I'm a good man? Then you are wrong! I am pure evil!" Oda proclaimed with his cape draped over him in a dramatic manner as the raised his hand up. To everyone's eyes he did not seem evil but more a comedian.

"You still doing such ludicrous performance? Don't you feel ashamed?" Toyohisa said dryly, looking at the old man as he continued to pose in what he thought looked majestic.

"Of course **not** ", Oda said looking him in the eye.

"You really got some galls. I forgot that you liked flashy stuff since you were a kid", Toyohisa said. He had a feeling that more of this was to come if he were to hang out with man, brat and woman.

"No, I don't think you are Offscourings", Olmine said as she looked at the two men wondering on how they were still alive.

"Why?" Yoichi asked looking at the girl who perhaps was no older than him.

"Those who come here as Offscourings can't be called as 'human beings' anymore. They never make such jokes like you", Olmine stated looking at these strange Drifters. They were truly nothing like she ever met, unpredictable and dangerous she surmised. "They nourish only an utter hate towards this world. I don't know what happened to then in your world, but they surely hate everything in this world. And hate drives them to destroy everything they see. There are only two things that Offscouring do when they come here; devastation and carnage. They gathered in the north, subjugated the monsters that lived there and started marching south. If we let them be they will reduce this world to nothing. That's why we ask you Drifters to help us!"

"If the Offscouring are gathering the monsters and moving towards the north. Then wouldn't be more like as if they are conquering the country? The Offscouring are probably not idiots, after all what would be the point to gather monsters and troops if they are just going to destroy the world. It would be meaningless, no? I would think that they are trying to conquer the world, not destroy it", Takeko said dully, she crossed her legs as she leaned forward, "Or perhaps they are just trying to eliminate humans, I myself can think of many reasons why monsters would want to hate us", she said with a smile as she patted Olmine on the head.

Olmine looked at her in shock, "You...You are more terrifying than I had first imagined", Olmine managed to stutter. Takeko smile broadened as if she had just told her a funny joke.

"How many soldiers have you got?" Oda said suddenly to break the tension in the room.

"Eh?" Olmine said as she had been concentrating on her ropes more.

"I know nothing about monster, but now I know they have a large army. Just how many soldiers have you got to fight them?" Oda looked at the girl, his eye penetrating her, she had never felt so pressured in her life.

"Uh, well…our organization is a society of magicians, so…our goals is to gather all Drifters and…" Olmine started but Oda cut her off.

"So, no soldiers at all?" Oda said with a frown on his face, how was this supposed to work is there were no lords to command his troops.

"Well, out plan is to appeal to the Kings and lords of each country to provide armed forces and the Drifters would lead them against…" Olmine continued but once more she was cut off by the impatient old man.

"Fool! Fool! Fool! This may be a different world, but some things are just the same. Every country here has a lord, who has command over his army, which in turn is proof of his power. Nobody is idiot enough to hand his army to an unknown bunch of guys, you fool! It doesn't matter how strong or powerful those so called 'Offscourings' are. The lords will never surrender their armies to you. They will cling to their military power 'till their last man is killed and their last stronghold falls to the hands of them 'army to destroy the world'. That's what a 'lord' is! Who do you think the Mohists disappeared after the Warring States period! You may come up with whatever theory you like, but facts are facts", Oda stated aloud. His eyes were sharp and his smirk was mocking, whatever he did in the other world he had remembered all too well. After all he was a lord once, Takeko thought with a grin.

Toyohisa stared at the once lord, 'S _o this is Oda Nobunaga, it's really hard to tell if he is an oaf or a shrewd man he thought'_. He was surrounded by warriors, despite their times differences, they were all alike.

"Th…Then what should we do?! Without the help of you Dfifters, we can never defeat them! What should we do?!" Olmine cried out, the ropes dug around her arms as she jolted up but she didn't mind.

"What? Isn't it obvious? We Drifters have to take over a country!" Oda yelled, with a wide a sinister grin planted on his face. His teeth baring and at this moment he really did look like a demon. "We will start by taking over this country, having Toyohisa as our head", all four Drifters stood behind one another. All but Toyohisa had a smile on their faces.

"Lend us a hand. Join us in this plan to destroy this country so that you can bring happiness and peace to your world", Oda said while beckoning to girl with his hand.

"Wait a moment! I am the head of this?! Who said that?!" Toyohisa suddenly yelled at Oda who had only just processed the information.

"What? You say in the middle of us after that battle, you forgot?" Yoichi said with a disbelieving face.

"And so what?!" Toyohisa answered back, still not understanding the meaning of his words.

"Your head is emptier than your stomach", Takeko said quietly.

"Couldn't you be a tad brighter, son?" Oda said while looking at the buffoon.

Olmine could only stare at these strange Drifters, how could they be so calm while talking about taking over a country? Or maybe that was how they told to do when they were younger, and it was all they really lived for. The glory and winnings of taking part in battle. Great Master, things are a mess here! Those guys are completely crazy! But I must admit that their ideas are appealing. It's said that the Offscouring have already raised arms a few times in the past, and every time they did; this would was brought to the the brink of extinction. But this time, the Offscouring are way more powerful. The world will be reduced to dust if we don't take bold actions. Nothing will remain here, _and the Black King will have won._

* * *

To Wolfy (guest): to answer you question if Takeko is going to pair up with anyone, well who knows really. I'm really patient for romance, and besides you'll just have to wait to find out. The manga needs to have more chapters for me to decide.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Japanese People, Magicians and Elves?

"Yuh, yooh doo", Yoichi said deadpanning. The elves themselves just watched the Drifter talk nonsense as they slowly backed away from him.

"They don't understand a word", Oda said sweating a little.

"Hey! Wait a sec! You! How come you speak Japanese?!" Toyohisa suddenly yelled at Olmine who had hid herself behind Takeko, deeming her as the safest place to be.

"Oh my, here he comes! S-sir, we are a society of magicians and…and we have done a lot of research about you and the Great Master has devised and drawn useful pieces of paper like this", Olmine proclaimed whilst holding out a small piece of paper. She grinned triumphantly, "Stick this on you and you can effortless speak with them. Our Great Master is really, don't you think?"

Yoichi at that moment stopped talking and turned his head to look at the magician with a painful smile. He then fell face first onto the floor, "All my efforts was worth nothing…" He said in a ghostly voice, his tears were streaming down continuously.

"Hey! You damn it! Do you know how hard it was for Yoichi to learn their language?!" Oda shouted at the poor girl, who really didn't care.

"How should I know that?!" She yelled back, suddenly feeling brave.

"Apologise! Apologise to Yoichi!"

"W-Why?!"

"Shut up and apologise! Don't you feel sorry for him?!"

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Olmine screamed out.

"And give me that piece of paper!" Oda cried at the pitiable girl.

"Uh, wait a moment", she went through her little pouch pulling out several pieces of paper at a time. "Far East Country of the Rising Sun, people like samurai. I think this is the right one", she pulled a piece of paper and then proceeded to slam it right into Yoichi's face. Sticking it right on his forehead, Takeko looked at him in surprise. "Right!"

"Hello", Yoichi said while sticking both his arms out. To Takeko's eyes he looked like a Chinese vampire, she just stared at him shock as the elf people seemed to understand him.

"He looks like some weird zombie! Don't you have common sense?!" Toyohisa yelled at the very much verbally abused girl.

"All right! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Olmine shouted at the towering samurai who she thought didn't have any common sense.

Olmine held out one for her, which Takeko took, thanking her. To her surprise as soon as she took the small piece of paper the strange language of the elves became clearer and soon it was understandable for her. It wasn't like she could understand what they spoke, it was more like that they were speaking Japanese.

Oda carefully took hold of the paper, 'T _his looks like the papers used by the 'onmyouji' magicians of Kyoto. 'Octobrist organization' and the 'Great Master'… Who the hell are they?_ ' He thought, to his surprise he could now understand the hushed whispers of the elves as they talked amongst themselves. Oda turned his attention to Toyohisa deciding it would be best for him to speak to them. After all, Takeko was a woman, they would be less likely to listen to woman. He himself was already an old man, they would be less likely to trust him and Yoichi was still a child with little experience with leading people.

"Toyohisa, you tell them. I will stay by you side, tell them exactly as I say. You are the best one to speak to them", he said to the samurai. He walked up to Olmine, "Hey, hooter-glasses".

"My name is Olmine! I would love you if you call me by my name!" She said, with a deadpanned face. She sighed in frustration, she really didn't want to deal with these people any longer.

"Tell me about those pointy eared guys. I can imagine what happened to them, so make it _short_!" Oda said sternly.

"What? I have to explain to you right now? My goodness", she sighed even more. "They are what we call as 'elves'. Decades ago, they were invaded by humans and were defeated in war. Since then, they are living as poor farmers for the humans", she said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Good. Now tell me about the main traits of the elves", Oda asked.

"Uh, well. They have a long lifespan. And I've heard that they were originally a very proud race", Olmine continued. Still wondering what was the point of telling all this information.

Oda let a cynical chuckle, his face contorted into a sinister grin, "Great. That's all I wanted to know. Hahahaha!" He walked up Toyohisa and whispered into his ear, he cupped his hand to minimize the sound escaping from his mouth. "Toyo, here's what you are going to say, just as you told me, you say this. Like this, and this and this".

"What…?" He narrowed his eyes as he heard the words, "You are really a disgraceful man! No wonder you were betrayed!" Toyohisa yelled at the former war lord.

"S-shut up! Speak to them!" Oda shouted at the samurai. Toyohisa let out an exasperated sigh and turned to the elves who were still talking amongst themselves.

"Hey guys. Tell me one thing. Wouldn't you ancestor be mortified to see you reduced to this shameful state?" The elven people stopped their talking and turned their attention to the Drifter, their full attention on the red clad man. "Wouldn't your children be shamed to see you degraded to a pitiable state? **Tell me. Don't you want your country back?** Are you going to crawl like vermin's and die in shameful regret or are you going to soar to the skies and die for your dreams? Which one do you prefer?!"

" **Choose!** " The elves stared agape at the audacious man, how dare he speak of that?! They had never wanted this lifestyle, they had never chose to live like this! They gritted their teeth in frustration, never had they felt so much humiliation!

"Do you think we don't want our country back?!"

"Do you think we want to live as slaves?!" They shouted back at the red clad man. The man simply smiled and replied with a casual response that may have seemed simply ridiculous. But if it was these Drifters, they could pull it off.

"Good. Then, we will commence the conquest of the country", Yoichi and Takeko behind him shared a grin. Finally they were allowed to have some real fun, no more small fights, they were going big-scale now!

Oda stood with his arms crossed, as he thought to himself. My, my. He's got a good face. Somehow he reminds me of…

"Hey", Toyohisa called out at Oda snapping him out of his thoughts. "Why did you make me as commander? You should be doing this, shouldn't you Nobunaga?" Toyohisa stated, clenching his fist. Takeko narrowed her eyes, she wanted to scowl but she carefully kept everything hidden.

"Hahaha prefer being the eminence grist! Hahaha!" He shouted out, throwing his arms up into the air. Toyohisa furrowed his eyebrows in anger.

"I am not your son, Nobutada", he stated with a hard voice. "Your son died at Azuchi! He was killed by Mitsuhide! I am Shimazu Toyohisa! I am not Oda Nobutada!" Toyohisa said with a grimace.

"I…I know that you fool! What are you talking about, you idiot?! You have no resemblance to him, stupid fool!" Oda yelled aloud, feeling defensive all of the sudden. "Stop talking nonsense, idiot. Feh", he walked away and stood back facing Toyohisa. "You fool".

Toyohisa looked at his dejected self and thought to himself. ' _I said one word too much, if my father was alive, I guess he would be more or less at his age…'_ Oda suddenly turned his head in a robotic manner and stared right back at Toyohisa. And it was as if he read his mind.

"I am not your father! Iehisa is long dead! I am Oda Nobunaga! Where the hell is 'Satsuma'?" Oda said with a wicked grin. Suddenly without warning Toyohisa punched the war lord right in the face, his fist colliding into his cheekbone.

Oda recovered easily though, he quickly got up and launched himself at the brat and collided into him.

"What did you say, you moron?!"

"What, you want a fight?!"

"Take this!" Toyohisa grabbed a chair and threw it right at Oda's head but he dodged it. This continued as they continued to throw stuff around each other. Wood, spoons,

"What's going on?! Why did they start fighting?!"

"AHHHH!"

"Gaaah!"

"Stop them! Stop them!"

Toyohisa took hold of a pot and chucked it Oda, he ducked down and laughed at Toyohisa as the pot smashed behind him. "Haha, you missed!" He pointed a finger at the samurai who only stood there in shock. Toyohisa's gaze went behind Oda who stood there in confusion, Oda turned his head to see what was wrong.

Blood dripped from Takeko's forehead as she stood still with a dumbfounded expression, she did not see the pot flying at her. She didn't even expect a pot flying at her anyways, she touched her head lightly and winced in pain. She pulled out a shard of pottery from her hair while she was at it.

"Your head! It's bleeding!" Olmine yelled, she tried pulling out a handkerchief from her bag.

"No, no it's alright", Takeko said as she continued pulling out the stray shards from her hair. The blood flow increased, with streams of blood dripping from her face and down her chin.

"That is definitely not alright!" She screeched, scrambling to get something to stop the bleeding.

"Oi, are you really alright?" Toyohisa deadpanned with a guilty expression.

She nodded and without a word she tore off a part of her clothes to bandage her head and sat down to avoid getting dizzy. "It was just an accident anyways", Takeko muttered as she lay back.

"You're rather relaxed about having a pot smashed into your head", Olmine mumbled.

"Not really relaxed, more like I don't really have the effort to care", Takeko said, whilst tightening her bandages.

Oda kicked Toyohisa in the shin, "Why'd you throw the pot you imbecile?!"

"Why'd you dodge!?" Toyohisa yelled back, and soon they were fighting again.

Yoichi watched the two men fight one another with a fond smile. "Oh my, this brings back fond memories of the fights with my brothers…" After all there was eleven of them, he thought. That was so great…I wish I could fight them again. With a sudden sense of nostalgia he took a flying kick onto Oda's head. "Take this!"

"What the hell are you doing?!" Oda yelled at the smug boy. Yoichi responded with a gleeful laugh as he struck up a battle pose. "You freaking archer!" The three men began to bicker amongst themselves, making sure not to awake the annoyed woman as she just stared at them fervently with magnitudes of hate rolling off of her.

"Please stop! While we are fighting here for nothing, the army of the lord may as well be coming this way! We don't have time to lose!" One of the elf people yelled at the Drifters, Takeko startled at the sudden noise looked up to see what was going.

"And you are…?" Toyohisa began.

"I am Shara, son of the village elder killed by them. Thanks for taking care of my brothers", the elf male said to Toyohisa, Takeko looked on with interest.

"Oh, so he's your elder brother", Toyohisa said with a warm smile as he looked down at the two brothers.

"Yes!" They chorused proudly.

"The army 'may' be coming this way? It's _damn obvious_ that it's coming here", the elven people looked at the older male in shock. "The troop you slaughtered must be a patrolling troop. And it just didn't go back to its base quarters, they are going to gather more soldiers", Oda said in a matter-of-fact voice as he sat down on the floor leaning against the wall.

"Four days to do that, perhaps?" Yoichi said with a small smirk

"No, they are good at it. Three days, tops", Takeko said quietly as she rubbed her head to ease the pain.

"We, the Shimazu need only one day", Toyohisa said proudly.

"Your clan is a bunch of freaks, that's why!" Oda said with a frustrated huff. You belligerent freaks! "So that means that the day after tomorrow is the day this village is burnt to the ground", he said with a wide grin. The elven people stared in shock, what could they do?

"Please! Please help us! We-we beg you! We have never taken up arms to fight. We were still kids forty years ago, when our country was destroyed. And our fathers and brothers who fought that war were all killed. We don't even know how to fight. Please help us! Please, we beg you!" Shara pleaded to the Drifters, they were going to be killed if they didn't have to assistance of the Drifters.

All four Drifters paused for a moment in silence, just processing the information they had just heard.

"Didn't you just say something weird now, son?" Oda said while turning his head.

"Eh?"

"How old are you?" Oda asked.

"Me? I'm one hundred and six years old", Shara said plainly as if there was nothing wrong. Takeko rubbed her head even more while muttering to herself, "One hundred and six, one hundred and six, one hundred and six…" Ah she lost it Toyohisa thought as he looked at Takeko chant to her herself.

"Hey, no kidding alright? Were you in Japan you would have been killed for lying", Oda said with veins popping out around his face.

"But I'm telling you the truth", Shara said still not understanding what was the problem.

"Hey, how old are you?" Toyohisa said to the two younger brothers who stood side by side.

"Thirty-nine!"

"Thirty-six!" They said happily finding no problem.

The Drifters jaws dropped, Takeko banged her head against the wall, blood dripping down from her wounds.

"What does this mean, Hootine?!" Oda said with gritted teeth, he hand was grasped onto the right breast of poor girl.

"It's Olmine! I bet you don't want to learn my name! And take your hand off my breasts! Elves have a long lifespan. They live five to six times longer than humans. On the other hand, their growth is slower as well", Olmine said while sighing. These Japanese were crazy!

"They are older than me…" Toyohisa said in a wavering voice staring at the two children who looked no older than twelve or thirteen. He sweated nervously, seriously, what was up with this messed up world!?

"This region was originally part of the elven country. But 'Orte' the eastern kingdom of humans, destroyed the elven country and annexed their land. There were also many countries from many races like dwarves and hobbits in this area. But they were all destroyed and the survivors were forced to become poor farmers or miners. The 'Orte' kingdom now calls itself as 'empire' and adopts a policy of conquest and dominion based on human superiority", Olmine said.

"This Orte' something, is it still expanding its frontiers?" Oda said in a bored manner, his tone was knowing. It was as if he already know what it was like.

"They are fighting at all borders. Though these fights are causing massive casualties but no winner so far", Olmine said while flipping through a small document of the Orte empire.

"It's obvious. Conquering a land is like playing with fire. You only have two options; either you burn everything to the ground, or you give them everything, just like pampering a princess", Oda said with a knowing smile. His eyes seemed distant as he remembered a distant memory.

If Orte was as strong as it was forty years ago, it could have been a major force against the Black King. But now…

"They do things by the halves. That's why they get so much hatred. And they've been doing this for damn forty years", Toyohisa said as he looked around the room. These elven people have been enduring it for so long, if they didn't come how much longer would they have to endure?

"It's just like setting fire at dry woods. Everything is filled up with smoke of hatred", Takeko said quietly, she knew a festering fire would persist to burn even after the flames have died down.

"No wonder those idiots from yesterday were overdoing it. If they didn't 'show their authority' they will lose control. And that's why they are coming here again. They will come here for sure, to kill everyone. So what are you going to do now, Toyohisa? What are you going to do, commander? Show is the war strategies of the Shimazu!" Oda said to Toyohisa, beckoning him.

"…We will welcome those soldiers. We will welcome them into this village", Toyohisa with a wide grin. The shadows flickered around him giving him a menacing look.

* * *

Toyohisa and Takeko stood high up in trees, hidden by the darkness of the night and the foliage of the trees. On their side was a small group of elves stood on the branches as well.

"Tonight we strike. Tonight we kill of them. And their heads will be our", Toyohisa murmured in the darkness.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: The Detachment of Life and Death

"We have twenty swords and armours from the soldiers we killed. Also we have two horses but they can't ride them. So we will use the animals for the strategy I came up with. The armours are fine, the only problem is that only one or two of them knows how to wield a sword. Talking about it, they were really motivated to making bows. So now Yoichi is helping them make bows and arrows. And they are making bows and arrows like there was no tomorrow. It seems they were experts in this", Oda said while peering down the window slit eyeing the elves as they went about their business.

"I would wish for some spears. A long range weapon like a spear reduces the fear in the battle. Even a peasant can kill a warrior with a long spear", he said while chuckling little. In his mind he was imagining a line of warriors with their polearms, poised and ready to strike. That being aid he had never seen Takeko fight, not even once. She came into the world bloodied and torn, like a rabid animal fighting for its last breath but now she was like a docile bird simply waiting for something.

"Obviously you have no means to know, but Akechi Mitsuhide was killed by poor farmers while fleeing in Fushimi", Toyohisa with a smirk. He leaned back against the stone as he chuckled, to think he was conversing with the Demon Lord himself in such a manner surrounded by strange long ears. He knew nothing of this world, but perhaps he would just act as he would in their world, there was no reason to act any differently. After all he was still himself and there was no change in that.

"You kidding! Hah! That kumquat-head saw it coming! Long live the poor farmers of Fushimi! I exempt them from taxes for the next one million years!" Oda said evilly.

"Either way, Nobunaga. You seem to have lots of fun while plotting nasty stuff", Toyohisa thought aloud.

"The battle itself is only the consequence of what you did before. I believe that wars are actually waged, fought and won before the battle. Although nobody except that monkey Hideyoshi understood this truth", Oda said with a wicked yet forlorn grin.

* * *

"We didn't know why the corpses of the dead soldiers disappeared overnight", one of the elf men said as he looked at the bloodied armour.

"So it was you who gathered them!" Shara said, sweating a little. He stared at the blood drenched armour, staining the silver a crimson red. They didn't even bother cleaning off the blood nor even hiding the fact they stripped the men of their armour and their clothing. Despite their harmless looks, they were truly monstrous men. A devil disguised as an old man, an ogre disguised as a warrior, a reaper disguised as a woman and a ghost disguised as a young boy. Each individual Drifters was not something that should be of their world, and yet they were still here. These Drifters really didn't have any regard for life at all.

"Choose any gear you want. I hope you don't the blood", Yoichi said simply as if there was nothing wrong with using dead soldiers armour. Besides the blood, there shouldn't be any problem. It was just blood, a red liquid which was the vitality of life, but by itself it was truly nothing. But perhaps it would be best to not tell them what happened to the bodies of the soldiers. ' _Toyohisa beheaded the bodies and buried the heads in a common tomb, which is fine. The problem is what Nobu is doing with the remaining parts of the body'_ ,

* * *

"What a terrible stench!" Olmine cried out, she cupped her nose to stop the smell penetrating any further into her nose. Her legs hurt, they had already been walking for so long and at such steep altitudes. She glanced at the three Drifters climbing upwards with ease, and despite their clothing and the equipment they were wearing she was the one who was struggling the most. Several times she had stumbled on a root or slid on wet mud.

"We have a proper burial to their heads, so we will use their bodies to our purposes", Oda continued walking on as if there was nothing wrong; he was a little anxious. He was unsure of the chemistry of this world and if he would have the sufficient materials to create what he needed. Not only that but he wasn't sure if this world's technology was advanced enough to recreate the matchlock. But if he could create the powder, then the matchlock would might just be a bonus. He suddenly came to a stop when they reached an abrupt drop on the ground level. Olmine peered down to see an amass of bodies covered in a white substance, she felt bile rise up from her stomach

"A saltpetre mound, eh?" Toyohisa nonchalantly, they had done quite a good job. Although it was mostly him and Oda who undressed the men and did the necessary preparations to create such a pit. Takeko had never seen such a mound before, and she fascinated to say the least. She leaned forward and peered down to get a better look. However she edged a little too close to the edge, and for a brief second she lost her footing but before she fell into the pit Toyohisa grabbed hold of her cuff and pulled her back. She blinked her eyes in surprise, and looked up at Toyohisa's face. He stared back at her before he pulled her back little more so she was a little further away from . "Careful", he said wryly.

"I mixed soil, grass, excrements and the corpses of those soldiers. I presume it will take some two years 'till we can get the first crystals. This is something I learned from my enemies. By the way, we have to forbid those elven villagers from entering this mountain. Or else they may get sick from diseases unknown to us", Oda said blandly whilst looking down at his handiwork. He said it in manner which was unbefitting for the atrocities he had just spoke.

"Ulp", Olmine held onto her stomach and forced the bile back down into her stomach. She averted her eyes from the pit trying to erase the image from her mind. It was the first time she had ever seen such a sight, even the soldiers from the barracks had never used corpses in such a way. To regard these dead men with families and wives as pieces of meat. It was so inhumane and so _'Offscouring_ ' like!

"What are you going to do with the earth we dug from the bathrooms?" Takeko said in curiosity, she continued to eye the mound in fascination. One of her uncles had been a guns expert and as a child he would always show her little fire shows with a strange powder. It was only when she got older did she realize what it was and what its true purpose was. She had a clear interest for the processes and she did not hide it, she had always been a curious child. And her imagination knew no bounds and her imagination was far and wide.

"It's easy to get charcoal, but so far we have no sulphur. So we leave it as is for a moment", Oda answered back, pleased with Takeko's enthusiasm. It was hard to find a woman who had such similar interests, finding a woman like that was like finding a diamond within a desert. To few and far between. It was hard to imagine that this woman before was still unmarried, or maybe t was because of her uncontrollable nature which could never allow her to be bound to man. Olmine was not having fun, it fact she had just about enough with these crazy people.

"This is just too much! I can't believe you could do this to the bodies of those soldiers!" Olmine cried out, she just couldn't understand these people. These were living human beings with emotions and their own free-will! They were not meant to be treated like, she could accept this regardless whether they were Drifters or Offscouring or anyone else.

Oda looked at her in a bored manner, it was hard to tell if this girl had any use at all. She was whiny and by the looks of it she wasn't a fighter either. Perhaps she had skills in another area, but it was hard to say. He couldn't just judge her yet, she still had her uses and her glorious breasts. "What are you talking about? Bury them as is and the same thing will happen. Maggots will eat them and they will become dust once again. We are just speeding the process. We can't let precious resources go to waste".

"We washed and cleaned their heads. We gave them a proper burial as human beings. So, if you want to pray, pray to those heads. If you believe that shit and piss are dirty, remember that me and you are also bags of flesh, full of shit and piss inside. Do you think that the soul dwells in the shit filled flesh instead of the decently cleaned and buried heads? That would be nonsense", Toyohisa said dryly. These sorts of things were common place in Satsuma, death was a mere thing that you had to accept.

Olmine widened her eyes in shock, she turned her head to Takeko in hope that she had a different opinion. "They're dead, I only have reverance for the living, and homage for the dead, that is if I know them. These are soldiers, so we gave them a burial befitting of their rank", Takeko said in a sombre tone, shrugging indifferently.

Olmine looked at them in disbelief, she now understand them, to an extent that it is. She knew that these people which came from the other world were not to understood with, it was simply the way they were raised and the environment they were born from. The difference was a whole other world, but the main difference between her and them is not knowledge, technology or culture. But their views on life and death.

"Hey Olmineboobs", Oda suddenly said breaking the momentary silence.

"Are you so senile to mistake only the last part of my name? It's so disgusting that I can't even get mad at you", Olmine said narrowing her eyes.

"I want that yellow stinky stuff you get near volcanoes. It's something we call sulphur. That stuff smells like powdered fart. Can you get it for us?" Oda said a vindictive expression. They should have that shouldn't they. The world may be different but the fundamental were the same, that must remain the same for such a civilisation to emerge with their own individual races and cultures.

"What? Sulphur? Yes, I think it's possible to get it. But what are you going to do with it?" Olmine questioned with suspicion written all over her face.

"It doesn't matter. Just bring it to us will ya? Ask you I-don't-know-the-name organisation", Oda said with a deadpanned face. "Octotits?"

"What?" Olmine said with her eyebrows twitching, "I don't think we can do this for free. How much are you willing to pay us?"

" _Shut Up!_ " Oda cried out suddenly reminded of their financial predicament. "I will pay you after conquering some five or six countries! Just shut up and bring the damn sulphur as soon as possible, damn it!"

"WHAT!?" Olmine screeched out. ' _Honestly what were these crazy people thinking of? Earth from the bathrooms? Corpses? Sulphur? What are they planning to do?! Somebody please give me a clue!'_ She thought in desperation.

* * *

"You're not like those three men are you?"

Takeko looked up from her work, she looked at Mark, the youngest of the three brothers. And despite his looks, he was older then her by fifteen years.

"You mean those three idiots over there", Takeko she pointed to the sleeping Toyohisa who had a few curious elven men poking at his face with stick to check if he was still alive. Just several metres away from him was Yoichi who was flaunting his archery skills to the elves who praised him with applause and much reverance. And then finally Oda who was commanding the elves and herding them like a shepherd making himself look like a buffoon. The two brothers paused before a moment and sighed.

"I take it back", Mark said with a sigh.

Takeko nodded absentmindedly continued to shave the stick with a small knife, defining the shape more and more. She held it up to the sun to see if there were any imperfections, once satisfied she took out a premade arrowhead and attached it to the tip with a bit of twine. Wrapping around the stick and the pieces of metal she worked meticulously letting herself fall into a repetitive pattern. The two brothers simply watched in awe, her hands moved fast and rarely did she make a mistake and never once did she look up from her work.

"Pass me a few feathers", she said without looking up, holding out her hand. Marsha placed a few goose feathers already cut, Takeko took them and wedged them into the cuts at the other end and secured them with some more twine. As she worked the brothers chattered with no direction of where the conversation was going. They simply spoke what was on their mind and Takeko was listen patiently asking the right questions and politely interject to add a mindful comment. Even though her mind was actually far away, wandering and thinking of some other personal business which she had no obligation to tell anyone. But she still kept some of her towards the two boys, she paid no mind to the work though. Her hands moving automatically once stuck into the pattern.

"We heard from one of our friends that you saved their fathers life, he thanks you though he's a little to afraid to approach you. You are after all guarded by those three men quite well", Mark continued. Toyohisa and Yoichi were unaware why the fact she had come so late in the fight from the night before. Oda had found out through some quiet murmurs. Takeko had long before caught the horse but when heading back towards the village she was delayed by a wounded elven man who lay bleeding to death. She only did what she thought was right, tearing part of her dress to bandage him up and using so balm to soothe the cuts. She had quietly kept it to herself, she was quite an introvert, liking only the company of a few select people.

"That's fine by me, having someone guard your back is quite a refreshing feeling", Takeko said chuckling a little. She took a small piece of damp cloth and gently wiped down the arrow, when done she looked at her handiwork. She placed the arrow in a basket and began with the next one. She stopped for a moment to crack her neck and loosen her stiff limbs. She had been sitting in the same position for quite some time and her legs had become rather numb. She stretched her legs out, letting the stiff joints crack. She sighed in relief a she leaned back against the tree stump.

"You really don't seem like those men", Marsha said as he fiddled with a feather. Takeko took it from his hand and inspected it against the sunlight, letting the rays seep through the fine threads of the feathers.

"Being different is nothing really wrong, it just means we are individuals", she said with a smile as she stood and dusted her dress. Mark and Marsha gave her queer look before trotting off to follow her. She left her work done, the arrows were stacked up neatly and everything was packed away. She signalled so adult elves to help her take them away to be collected in the bunches near the carriages.

* * *

"Very well. Now, we will attack the village. Kill every single one of them. We won't just take our village back. We will go right to the castle of the local governor _and we will kill him_ ", Toyohisa said. His eyes narrowed at the thought, but his body thrummed in energy. He was jumpy to get to work, he had been sleeping for most of the day only waking to eat so his body was bursting with energy. And it needed to be dispersed or he might so crazy.

"W-What?!" Oda said in shock, what was this fool thinking now?! Was this fool crazy, no wait! This sort of thinking, without a plan, spontaneous and dangerous. It was perhaps what this world was lacking, if he could just harness this power.

Toyohisa indicated to Mark and Marsha who stood side by side, Takeko stood behind those two with a somewhat pitying expression. "Those two told me the reason why there are no young women in the village", Toyohisa said to Oda.

"…We elves can only have children once a year. And when that time arrives, all young women are taken to the local governor", Shara said with a pained expression.

"Oh, I see now. So they really are trying aren't they? To wipe you from this world", Oda said with a sneer.

"Recover your women and you children to be a man once again. They reduced you to slaves in this world. Now it's your turn to reduce them to slaves; _in hell!_ " Toyohisa proclaimed loudly. "If there's something like right and wrong in this world, then right is what you are going to do now. Even if you die, you can face you ancestors and say; full of pride that you died fighting a battle. That you died protecting your loved ones. Recover you women. Recover your children. Recover you country. Recover your honour to be once again the mighty men you were!"

The atmosphere around the room suddenly thickened, it was like as if everyone was in a trance. They were entranced by this strange man's words, and they were ready to die for their pride.

"This man is indeed a military commander from the very beginning. He has the necessary power for a general fighting a war. The power to move people towards battlefield. The power called 'insanity'", Oda murmured to himself with a wicked grin. Together with this rag-tag 'army' they would bring this entire country to its knees.

* * *

I've got school, so don't blame me if I don't update as fast as you may hope.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Eat Shit Soldiers!

"Fire", Takeko murmured. She felt surprisingly calm, she wasn't as keen as Toyohisa nor did she have any grand plans like Oda. She didn't even like fighting as much as Yoichi as well. So she wondered why she was even here. The elves by her side with their bows drawn suddenly sent a shower of arrow upon on the makeshift campus. "Fire again", she said dully yawning a little whilst eyeing Toyohisa cut down soldier after soldier, a small group of elves were down there as well to aid him. "Alright. I'm off!" She signalled the elves to stop their firing and she soon jumped down from the ledge and skidded down, as she was reaching the bottom she caught sight of a soldier. He attempted to cut her down, but tripped on a stone resulting in his own demise as Takeko kicked him aside letting the elves finish him off.

Takeko let out a small shaky breath before unsheathing her polearm, the cloth unravelled in the wind as she wrapped her arm around the spear, relishing in the familiar sensation of the smooth wood against her skin. She had not even fought for half a year, but as she smelt the burning flesh, the blood drenched earth everything came crashing back to her. Her eyes sharpening, the heavy smog clouding her mind was suddenly cleared. There was the rush which swept her off her feet as she leaped from soldier to soldier, letting the spear guide her rather than her controlling it. Its gleaming silver cutting through the flesh and bone, staining the brilliant silver a crimson. She felt the drips of blood on her skin, it was warm but it quickly cooled in the night air. She let out a misty sigh as she stared up at the sky, it was no longer clear, it was clouded the stars were shrouded.

Toyohisa took a moment to gaze upon the female, it was strange. Normally when a warrior fought their eyes were glazed with the lust of war and the smell of blood. But her eyes were undeniably sharp and clear. There, standing alone amidst the pile of dead men, she somehow looked terribly lonely as she propped the polearm of her shoulders. Her hair tangled, matted with flesh and dried blood but somehow it suited rather the clean white gowns and heavy makeup of a noble. She looked at him, her gaze almost alien as if she wasn't even looked at him but beyond him. She pointed to a direction, Toyohisa turned to where she pointed.

Reinforcements came quickly, they stopped in their tracks in surprise as they saw Takeko and Toyohisa as well as the elves, "D-Drifters!" They cried out in shock.

"Good. Time to flee! Let's go Takeko!" Toyohisa signalled the elves to back off as he burst into a sprint with Takeko by his side. Takeko's hair flailed behind her, the both of them looked like fleeing demons. Adrenaline was running through Toyohisa's veins as he ran, laughing gleefully he sprinted even faster. He edged them on with a chase, and he never once did her feel the fear which the elves felt. He could only feel the wind and the heat of the fire brushing against his face. And the soft beckoning of a battle, which egged him on, making him even more impatient. Only once did he look back to check is she was behind him. And she was, just several steps behind him with a somewhat elated expression.

"D-don't let them escape! After them!" One of the men called out after them, but Toyohisa and Takeko were already out of earshot.

"Haha! The real fun starts now Takeko!" Toyohisa shouted cheerily as he eyed Takeko as she ran by his side, her eyes were steeled forward. Suddenly she grabbed his arm and pulled him to her right, a soldier had hidden himself in the shadows had tried to catch them off guard. Once in Toyohisa's peripheral he quickly swung his sword, slicing the soldier cleanly in half, armour and all. The blood splattering onto the both of them, Takeko smeared the blood off her cheek as she saw Toyohisa'a maniacal expression. It further fuelled her belief that this man was an ogre, it also made her laugh as she imagined him with horns and an severe under-bite.

"I don't know if this if fun!", Takeko yelled over the cries, "But this is thrilling", she laughed as she danced out of his sight, her robes trailed in the wind as she stabbed another man. Toyohisa responded with a loud laugh and a wide grin planted on his face. His hair now too matted with blood but unlike Takeko he simple ruffled his spikey tufts, shaking off the dried blood.

* * *

"Good. It had begun. Everyone ready?" Oda hadn't exactly for those two to move in so quickly, but the soldier's attention was diverted so now they could move in. Something roared within him, the same calling which had got so many year ago when he was younger. He was experiencing the same nervousness and anticipation as a young Lord, he didn't know whether it was because of the different circumstances he was fighting in or the thrill of the unknown. But what he did know was that he felt more alive than he ever did.

"Speed. Speed is everything. Move exactly as I told you", Oda said indicating to the horses and wagons. The elves were sweating nervously as they tightened their grip on their bows. Oda realized this and tried to alleviate their worries, but it may have actually worsened it. "Hey don't worry. The worst thing that can happen is your death", Oda said with a smug grin, their morale was much different than the troops he commanded back in the Land of the Rising Sun however their naivete could be manipulated, after all they had only just begun. He jumped onto the back of the wagon and once he had secured himself he shouted aloud, "RUN!"

The elves whipped the horse to a gallop, the elves ran besides the wagon each holding a long piece of wood. They somehow managed to keep up with the horse and wagon, whilst holding onto planks of wood. They were seemingly undeterred by the fact they had a chance of dying but the words of that red clad warrior fuelled a deep hatred for the Empire and the desire for freedom. Even if it meant they were to die for it.

"Feh, to think that I used to command a huge army of two hundred thousand man. And now look what I've become", Oda said to himself. He let out a sinister laugh, who could tell what the future held, but for once he simply could not care. He was caught up upon the moment and letting the tide of fate drag them along was okay for now. But he had an idea of what he wanted to do in this new uncharted world he and the other three had been thrown in. "I must admit that this word is really a lot of fun. And I'm loving it", Oda said with a demonic grin.

* * *

Toyohisa took a side-step and grasped the hilt of sword, and with a mighty swing he cleaved another soldier in two. Takeko lured the men closer towards the bloodied samurai with sweet whispers, confusing them and disorienting them in the heat of the fight. They fell one by one, mostly by Toyohisa as Takeko decided that she was already covered in enough blood. However Toyohisa had other ideas, taking full advantage of her light and lithe body he grabbed onto Takeko's hand, and using both hands he swung her around, allowing her to kick the surrounding men with the heel of her foot. The force of her kick and her swinging body was enough to crack the necks back. The soldiers fell dead or fell in severe pain as the whiplash was too strong for them to even see clearly.

With the soldiers momentarily pausing in their following, Toyohisa and Takeko took advantage of this and burst into a sprint away from the soldiers.

"After them!"

"Don't let them escape!"

"Why are you taking so long?! Our target is just two people! Surround them and bring them to me!" The supposed general cried out at his men, they shouted back at him in confirmation. Toyohisa continued to slash through the men who dared to jump in front of them, he laughed in elation as he relished the sensation of his sword cut through the men, one by one. The soldiers realising that the red clad man was more violent than his accomplice started targeted Takeko, but that was their downfall. She had earlier decided instead of wasting her energy on killing them one by one, she use some rather dirty tactics brought from their world. Pulling out a small satchel filled with precious powder she began letting it trail behind her. And when they had followed them for a significant amount of time, she dropped a burnt piece of wood, still smouldering. A resounding explosion, a small one in comparison to what the Drifters had seen in their world but it was good enough. It sent several men flying into the cottages, severely burning them as the flying debris cut them. Toyohisa laughed as Takeko stuck out her tongue egging them further. But the mysterious explosion had frozen them in their spots.

"They're laughing!"

"What the hell?!"

"Who the fuck are they?!"

"Ha! I bet they haven't seen that before", Toyohisa jeered.

Amidst the confusion Oda and the elves began charge through on the other side of the village. The soldiers of the local governor had been so wrapped up in capturing the two Drifters that Oda managed to sneak into the village with the elves with the plan coming all together. A few stray soldiers managed to catch sight of them, but they were quickly silenced with an arrow in their throats.

Oda snapped his fingers, to gain the elves attention, "Where's the guide?!"

"There it is!" One of the elves said pointing at a cart, "It's that cart! We are in front of my house!"

Oda hopped off the wagon and began orchestrating their great come-back, "Stop right beside it! Free the horse! Let's go!" He shouted, pointing at the walls. "Hurry up! Come on, hurry up!" Toyohisa and Takeko could only do so much before the soldiers started realising their presence.

"You will die! Everyone will die if you don't hurry up!" Oda cried out with a devilish grin, he continued to urge them with a rushed yet commanding voice. Piece by piece what they were doing started coming into light. The elves began forming a barrier around themselves using the wood planks, they quickly hammered down the nails and tied the planks in place. They began to unload the bows and arrows from the wagon and unbundle the arrows. And soon they were finished, Oda grinned. They had done it so quickly, more quickly than the dumb soldiers he once commanded.

"Shoot the fire arrows!" Oda commanded, drawing out his arm indicating to the houses. "This is farewell to this village! Steel you resolve! This is your farewell to this village that bound you! And this is farewell to the life you had as serfs!"

"FIRE!" The elves released their arrows and set the thatched roof of the cottages aflame. What a brilliant colour it was, it lit the entire vicinity like a bonfire. They did not cease, the elves continued to fire the arrows until every house was alit much like a torch.

The soldiers stopped in their tracks as they realised the houses were aflame, "What?! What's going on?!"

Toyohisa paused for a moment and admired the flames as it engulfed the houses in its destructive heat. He let out a wicked grin, Takeko looked at the flames dance upon the roofs. The flames seemed to leap from house to house as the wind blew through the village.

"Nobu is really a crazy guy", Toyohisa said with a smirk. But then again who wasn't crazy, they all were in varying degrees. But it was hard to say with their one unknown variable. The woman who came from the future. Takeko scratched at her hair, the blood was stuck at the base of her hair and it wasn't coming out. It felt disgusting with all the gunk in her hair.

"Well no-one is really getting hurt in the fire, so it's alright", Takeko said while looking at the flames whilst trying to untangle her hair.

"Are you sure about that?" Toyohisa said with a dark expression, yet a small smile was tugging at the edges.

"Oh sorry. I meant that no-one is getting directly hurt by the fire. But we all know what will happen anyways", Takeko said as she walked away. She pulled out her braid, letting her hair flow freely in the wind. Toyohisa watched her retreated form as she gave him a half-hearted wave good-bye. She had intentions of joining Oda, rather than standing around and following the samurai. She had done her job, and now all that was left was to sit back and enjoy the show.

"The soldiers of my country Owari were really weak. And that gave me a lot of headaches. So I had to think all the time about ways to cover this weakness up. But who'd think I would use a strategy from that monkey Hideyoshi?" Oda said to himself, letting out a dark chuckle. "Lo and behold, this is my Sunomata castle!"

"Prepare the next round of arrows, remember what I told you to do!" The elves took their arrows and dipped the tips into a bucket, they soon drew the arrows on their bows. "Prepare to fire!"

"Very well! Let's greet them with a refreshing shower!" Oda bellowed aloud, he snapped his fingers to signal for the release of the arrows. The arrows flew the air shooting down the soldiers as they charged forward to their deaths. Without haste they began to redraw their bows for the next barrage.

"This 'Orte' something is a country in war, right? So those men sent here must be lower ranked, less seasoned soldiers from locally stationed garrison", Oda informed to the elves. "Their moral and their combat skills should be lower as well. I doubt that they will fight to death. And I doubt we have to fight them all", Oda continued. In his own twisted way he was trying to give some moral support to the elves as they continued to fire their arrows.

"If we kill some thirty or forty men of theirs, for sure their lines will crumble into masses of fugitives", Oda laughed, with a malicious expression on his face. He was truly the image of the title that he had earned, The Demon Lord of the Sixth Heaven. The soldiers continued to cry out in pain, shock and surprise. They scrambled out of the way to save themselves from an impending death. Oda let out another dark chuckle as he kicked a wooden box upright and sat upon it.

"They won't get any recognition if they slay some petty serfs. And for them it will be a dishonour to be killed by them elves. Poor things", he said whilst grinning evilly. "On the other hand, it is enough for us to hit them in any part of their bodies. Isn't this an easy war to be fought or what?" Suddenly a pair of arms wrapped around his neck and shoulders, he jolted in the contact thinking it was a soldier. But he felt something rather soft pressing against his back, letting out a small sigh of relief he turned his head slightly to the see the wide copper eyes of the onna-bugeisha.

"You were scared for a moment weren't you Nobu?" Takeko chortled as she moved around him and sat at his feet.

"Don't be ridiculous, who could be scared of the those luscious breasts", Oda snorted as he looked away. Takeko smiled as she pressed her head against his leg, allowing her eyes to shut, she wanted to sleep. Even if it was just for a moment, amidst this chaos and death she somehow managed to find peace and silence. Allowing her to dose off. Oda spared a glance done at Takeko, she was breathing softly and her lips were parted slightly. It was a sight to behold, a blood drenched woman sleeping so peacefully right in the middle of a fight.

"Gwoh!"

"Gah!"

The cries of the soldiers echoed through the village, oh what a pitiful harmony of voices it was. The desperate cries of help, the small elven village had become the very depiction of hell. And the demons were the elves and strange men from the other world.

"What are you doing?! Get back to you positions! If we go for an all-out attack, that makeshift barricade will be down in a second!" The general ordered, he voice was starting to crack and he was sweating profusely, whether it was the heat of the flames or the imminent worry of his own death, it was something that no-one could even care at that moment.

"It's…it's shit! The arrowheads are full of shit!" A soldier cried out and he struggled to pull the arrow out. He continued to flail around wildly, trying to pull it out.

"What?! Bring water to wash the wounds! Or else you'll die with tetanus!" The general called aloud, signalling one of his men to bring some water. But alas there was none to bring.

"Sir…! We have no water!"

"The well is full of their shit as well! And we have virtually spent all the water we brought!" Another soldier called as he peered down the well.

The general widened his eyes in shock, "So, from the very beginning this was the reason why they threw shit into the well! This whole village was a trap! A trap! _They didn't abandon the village to flee!_ "

Oda although could not hear them properly saw their expressions, it seems that they now understood what was happening. He suddenly burst into a fit of laughter, a manic grin was etched across his face. They had seen their own doom and there was nought they could do, it filled Oda with uncontrollable glee as he signalled the elves. "Get ready! Fire!" Takeko jostled a little shifted her head a little, to get into a more comfortable position.

"N…No way!"

"Hey!"

"Let's get out of here!" The soldiers cried out, they soon began scatter across the village, trying their best the dodge the arrows. The general releasing the men run away tried to regroup his men back but it was a futile effort. "D-don't panic! We outnumber them by far! If we surround them, we can…"

"OOOOOHHHHH!" A sudden bellow reverberated throughout the village startling the soldiers. They cringed at the horrendous sound as it echoed through the landscape, the elf and soldiers alike stopped what they were doing to look at where the sound had come from. A clear pathway emerged from the flames, the fire seemingly parted for Toyohisa. Toyohisa stepped into the peripheral of the soldiers, he had a huge grin on his face.

"What a voice. Sounds like a shrieking monkey. It doesn't seem like a human voice", Oda said in surprise. The elves behind rubbed their ears trying to get rid of the ringing noise inside their heads. Takeko jumped up in surprise, disorientated.

"Who just died?!" Takeko cried out in confusion as she stumbled over her own dress, as she grabbed her weapon. She rubbed her eyes, trying to rub out the sleepiness from her face.

"The head of the commander is mine", Toyohisa proclaimed as he unsheathed his sword and readied it for a direct blow, "Give me this honour". He took mighty bounds towards the general, his feet didn't even seem to touch the ground as he soldiers screamed out in shock, and in fear for their lives scrambled away from his way forming a path for him as he continued to charge forward.

"W…what?! What the…" The general said in shock as he witnessed his own men form a path for their enemy. And suddenly Toyohisa took a hefty jump, and for a moment soared above the tops of the soldiers' heads. As he neared the ground he swung his long sword, he landed down with a heavy thud but now behind him the general's head had been relieved. He had a triumphant grin, the blood seeping through the fabric of his cloths sending chills down his heated skin.

"He's mine!" Toyohisa cheered happily, with the general down there was no reason for these soldiers to be here anymore. His beast was appeased a little but he knew there was so much else to be done as he shook his head wildly, the blood flaying out of his hair. Takeko stood still for a moment as she took a long look around them, they had achieved quite a result. And quite a bit of damage as well, the smell of shit and burning wood was quite overwhelming for her sensitive nose.

Oda looked at Toyohisa as he pondered over his thoughts, ' _The timing of his attack and the timing of him beheading the commander were simply perfect to crush the morale of the enemy_ ', a perfect commander for them. He would be the strategist of course, but then there was Takeko and Yoichi. Yoichi was already the leader of the elves, but there was uncertainty about Takeko. Perhaps she could be Toyohisa'a personal guard, her fighting style seemed to suit that and she could keep an eye on him at all times.

In a moment of silence, the elves processed what had happened. They looked at the battle torn village and the still raging fire, but what they focused on were the dead soldiers and the empty battlefield.

"W…We won!"

"We won!"

"Yes we won!"

"WE WON!"

"Hooray!" The elves cheered with ecstatic expressions, it had been a long time since they were so happy. And the feeling of accomplishment was simply indescribable.

"No, not yet! Not yet!" Toyohisa bellowed, his figure illuminated by the flames of the fire. "I said we would go right to the castle of the local governor and kill him, right?!"

Oda looked at him with a deadpanned expression, "Oh really? And do you have any idea of how to do that?" Oda asked having a feeling that he already knew the answer.

"Of course _not_ ", Toyohisa said plainly.

"Oh…It figures", Oda said with an exasperated sigh. Takeko slinked by Toyohisa's side peering at Oda as they shared a knowing sigh.

"If we are to strike, then we have to strike 'till the better end. Strike and strike and strike, 'till we crush our enemy and reduce it to nothing. That's what I learned from my father, my uncle, my other uncle, another uncle, my grandfather and my great-grandfather", Toyohisa stated.

"What a nasty family! Your clan is really insane!" Oda proclaimed in a loud voice.

"WHAT?!" Toyohisa yelled, gritting his teeth.

"Hey, calm down, calm down. I have a plan. And besides the soldiers who fled should be seeing hell right now", Oda said with a wicked grin. It should be right about now, Yoichi and the remaining elves should be dealing with the stragglers. He highly doubted that anyone of them would survive.

"Let's play dress up!", Takeko said. She tore off one of the boots from one of the dead and with some struggle she ripped off his helmet and breastplate, she held them up triumphantly with a grin. "Ta-da! We can be like a ninja!" She laughed as she began dragging the dead body closer to her so she could inspect if there was anything else she could wear which didn't have any blood on it.

Toyohisa gave her a long hard stare, trying to find some meaning behind her random moments of craziness. Oda let out an exasperated sigh before ordering the elves to do the same, what she said was right. But to think she caught on so quickly, he had merely glanced at the dead bodies, he hadn't even implied anything.

"What's a _ninja_?" One of the elves mumbled with a confused expression. A few others murmured in agreement.

"Assassins who sneak up behind their target to slit their throat, without letting the enemy even know they were even there", Toyohisa said. Although he said it in the simplest terms it was enough for the elves to understand what Takeko implied.

Takeko emerged from behind a house wearing the armour however if was a much too loose, even though she was wearing her clothes underneath. And her hair was much too long to be hidden inside the helmet. Her hair was at her shoulders when she first came to this world, but in six months it now reached near her waist. It grew too fast for her liking. "Toyo, can I borrow your short-sword?" Toyohisa raised a brow in question but chucked her the sword wordlessly. Gripping her hair in a bundle, with one swift movement she cut through her hair. Letting the significantly shortened hair fall onto her shoulders. She threw the bundle hair into the fire as she handed the sword back to Toyohisa. The elves were mildly surprised, but it was Oda and Toyohisa who were even more surprised. Hair for women was their indication for status, the longer and more silky smooth it was it meant the more noble they were. Oda's own sister had hair which reached the floor.

"I thought women cared about their hair?" Toyohisa said as he stared at her suddenly cropped hair. She gave him a shrug as she put the helmet on, and covered her mouth with some cloth.

"Who cares here?" Takeko said nonchalantly. Even though he couldn't see her smile, he knew she was smiling. her eyes were twinkling in amusement.

"Very well. Everyone donning your armours?!" Oda said with a sinister grin, looking at the elven men dressed in the armour. It was a little big for them for they had slimmer figures but it fit well enough. Toyohisa scratched his neck every now and then, it was much too heavy and thick for his liking. All this unnecessary layers for what?

"Well then. Let's go!"

* * *

I probably won't update the next week or so. Don't know, depends on my mood.

Edit from future me: I'm practically changing everything... My writing style has changed and I want to develop the characters more.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Anger

"If you keep scratching you'll get sores", Takeko said absentmindedly as she saw Toyohisa by her side continually scratch at his armour.

"I can't help it, what's up with all of these unnecessary layers?" He muttered in frustration whilst trying to scratch an itch on his back. Takeko lifted a brow and shook her head, the elves had no objections so did that give him a reason to complain?

"This armour is not made for speed, it's made for endurance. The fighting style of this worlds is much different from our homeland. Where speed is preferred over durability", Takeko said in a bored manner. The armour was nothing but a hindrance to her eyes, the pants and sleeves restricted her movement and it was heavy. "Besides. my breasts feel extremely constricted here and I'm not enjoying it", she pointed to the breastplate which was pressing her breasts flush and concealing she was a female. "I honestly don't know how I'm breathing", Takeko muttered as she tried to loosen the breastplate. All the other clothing wasn't so constricting, it was only her chest area which felt so tight. It was either the breastplate was to small or her chest was too big. She let out a sighing already knowing the answer.

Toyohisa was quiet not knowing what to say, and the elves behind them had their cheeks flushed red as they looked down. Trying to divert to quell their imagination, it was a long time since they had seen a female after all. But it was undeniable the female before them was a beauty, they just preferred to say nothing.

Oda however was hiding nothing, he blatantly stared at her chest.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't violate my privacy, unless you want to lose the thing which defines you as a man", Takeko said calmly as she stared at Oda. Oda gulped as he felt a cold shiver down his back. Toyohisa made a mental note to not anger this woman, she changed her moods so quickly.

"Right...".

"Sir Nobu! The fortress is in sight!" Shara said pointing to the looming castle, Oda turned his attention away from the two and took note of how big the fortress was. This would be too easy, Yoichi was right now taking care the rest of the soldiers and he betted that the remaining few soldiers were not battle hardened. Even serfs would be able to kill them easily as long they had a good commander leading them. And that would be Toyohisa.

"Alright then, adjust your armour if anything non-human is showing out!" Oda shouted out. He himself tilted his helmet a little lower hiding his eyes, through the corner of his eyes he saw Takeko unsaddle herself and readjust her sleeves. She looked surprisingly calm and only straightened herself out as if oblivious to the fact that they were about to slaughter quite a bit of men. Toyohisa however he could not tell, he had hidden all expression underneath his helmet and kept his seen expression quite neutral. Seemed like the brat had some sort of experience in surprise attack, but then again his entire bloody clan was battle freaks.

Oda stopped in front of gates and took a quick glance behind him to check on the elves, they seemed a little shaken and nervous but other than that they seemed fine. "Time for the show to start", Oda muttered to himself with a wicked grin.

"We are the peacekeeping troops for the elfish territories! We are stopping by to report to the Governor! Open the gate!" Oda yelled aloud. After several moments, the two doors creaked open.

"All right, everyone smile! Smile and enter as quickly as possible!" Oda said with a rather wide grin on his face, it was rather obvious that something was amiss however the remaining guards couldn't tell from their distance. The elves tried to smile, but it was such a forced smile that you could even see the beads of sweat travel down from their foreheads. "But don't run! Walk as if nothing had happened!" Oda quickly added seeing that some elves almost tried rushing in, honestly if they did that the governors would definitely suspect something.

He heard several let out a sigh of relief when they all made in without arousing suspicion, and as they just made it in a governor came to them with a worried expression.

"Report to me soldier. So, was it an unrest as expected?!" He said impatiently, awaiting the usual 'no sir' or 'yes sir' answer however he did not expect them to shed of their armour and helmets to reveal the long ears of elves and the Drifters oriental features.

"Yes. Indeed", Oda said proudly while signalling the elves to shed their helmets and such.

"Drifters! Elves!" The governor cried out in shock and surprise all at once. His eyes widened at the predicament which had arisen.

"This place is now ours", Oda proclaimed gleefully. A snide smirk was etched across his face as his chucked off his armour, it was too bulky for his liking. The elves behind him one by one took off their helmets and drew out their weapons in preparation of the slaughter.

"Wh…Ah…No…!" The governor managed to stutter out in shock. A loud clanging took his attention as Toyohisa threw down all of his armour. His let out a sigh of relief as his body felt much lighter and could breathe easier.

"This is too hot! This is too cumbersome!" He said in irritation, pulling at his sleeves to readjust his vest as it was all stuffed up underneath the extra armour. He took a short look around, it was a stone castle. The design reminded him of the foreigners which contacted Japan several times. He snorted distaste, there was nothing of this world which reminded him of home except its occupants. He walked up to the governor and grabbed the front of his shirt pulling the man up, his expression unreadable.

"Where are you holding the women?! Tell me!" He said threateningly, pulling at his shirt even tighter as a warning. Takeko exhaled quietly as she felt the extra weight disappear as she shed her armour off. She shook her hair lightly as she pulled out the knots.

"I…it's in the tower! They are in the tower!" He managed to stutter out in perpetual fear. After Toyohisa got the information his threw the man aside and eyed the stairs which he assumed would lead him to the tower.

"Good. Let's go. Come on Takeko", he said with an unnerving calmness. Takeko merely nodded and slinked behind him keeping herself within his shadow, peeling out her eyes making sure than nothing escaped her gaze. As they marched towards the stairs, Takeko felt her stomach twist and contort uncomfortably. She kept repeating something in her mind, as she tried to reassure herself that perhaps it would be different. But she kept her inner turmoil to herself as she followed her commander.

"A…and what about the soldiers?! Where are my soldiers?! What happened to them?!" The governor said in fear. Oda turned around to face the man, he had a smug grin.

"Well…I'm sorry to say this, but…most of them are dead. And those few who survived are being chased by Yoichi and his elves", Oda proclaimed with a wide grin. "But don't worry. Eventually you will join them. All of you will be properly mixed with shit and soil and will be really useful as gunpowder", Oda said as he let out a sinister laugh. A manic grin spread across his face as he eyed the fat governor. Today was a big catch, hopefully he would even get some more information on this 'Orte' empire.

* * *

"W…What?!" A soldier cried out in surprise as he saw a red clad man come out of nowhere, but before his could utter another word his head came flying off. Takeko treaded carefully, skipping lightly behind Toyohisa making sure not to intervene with his movements and only attacking when necessary. She let Toyohisa have his way as he continued to slice his way through several more soldiers. She moved only ever so slightly to dodge the blood splatters, she clicked her tongue in annoyance. She would have more washing up to do when they returned to their camp.

"Aah! I…I surrender! I surrender!" A soldier yelled aloud as he raised his arms up dropping his weapon. Takeko raised a brow and looked up at Toyohisa, what was their great commander going to do now Takeko wondered. She herself couldn't care less, whether the soldier surrendered or not it just wasn't her business. In this world she was just a mere soldier, under the command of a man who had nine more years of experience.

"Damn you!" One of the elves said as he drew out his sword in an attempt to cleave the man in two. But before he could even raise the sword Toyohisa grabbed onto his arm, the elf cried out in surprise.

"B…but! Why!" The elf cried out in confusion. Why wouldn't Toyohisa let him kill this man? They had also killed many of their elven people as well.

"He has given up his weapon. You mustn't kill him. It is a shame to kill someone who has already surrendered!" Toyohisa said in a stern voice. Takeko widened her eyes in shock as well, but she soon pressed her lips in a thin line. She averted her eyes from Toyohisa, why was this man different from the samurai from her time. Was two hundred years such a difference, or was it just this one man. Was it because he was guided the principles of a warrior or was it just how he thought? She clenched her fist and let out a sigh. This was her commander and she would act accordingly and how desired.

"But…I thought…we…" The elf stuttered still not believing that they were not allowed to kill the man.

"It is a shame!" Toyohisa said in an unrelenting voice, he had the voice of authority which silenced the elf. "We must save the women first. Let's go", he said abruptly signalling the end of the conversation.

"Let's go", Shara said quietly his eyes trailing after the foreboding figure of their commander. He was truly an enigma.

"Yeah", another elf agreed.

Takeko stayed back for a moment and turned her attention to the shell shocked soldier who had not believed his luck, she narrowed her eyes. Toyohisa said not to kill him however…Takeko threw a fast punch at the soldier knocking him out cold. She heard a satisfying crunch of the man's nose breaking, she waved her hand in the air to rid of the stinging sensation and continued her way. The elves stared at her wide-eyed reminding themselves that she was just as fearsome as any other Drifter.

Toyohisa kicked down the door with such a force that he unhinged both doors. They both fell to the floor with a shuddering echo that shook the floor ever so slightly. His expression was unreadable.

"What?! What the hell?!"

Toyohisa widened his eyes, the scene he was given was under no circumstances considered moral or just. The elven women barely wearing anything, merely stared at the strange man, their eyes devoid of light. They were undeserving of what had had happened to them, only a few choked sobs could be heard echo through the room. There were men sprawled around the room with indecency, as the women were chained to the walls in such poses which were immoral.

"No! _No!_ NO! I was wrong! The vermin's of this castle aren't worth shit! We shall slash them into pieces! We shall hack them down till they become dust! No soldier in this castle is to remain alive!" Toyohisa said hotly, his teeth gritted as he growled at the atrocity of these so-called men. Even the lowest of the low from his lands wouldn't do something of this.

Takeko froze still, she heard his rage, she heard the choked sobs of the female, she smelt something so familiar. It was a strong stench that made her head reel. She was so heavily rooted in her spot that her legs became tense and numb. "Toyohisa. I'm coming in", she finally said quietly. It couldn't have been louder than a whisper. She gently brushed past him, preparing herself for the sight.

"No you mustn't! "Toyohisa cried out grabbing her arms and pulling her back. Using his right hand he covered her eyes, he wrapped his left arm around her left arm and waist in order to restrict her movements. He couldn't allow Takeko see such a sight. It would only bring her devastation, indeed her eyes were not distant from bloodshed, gore and such, but the acts of sexual and physical assault without the females consent was something he did not want her to see.

The elves began to move towards the men and began restraining them with rope as well as threatening them to release the women. Through the hustle and bustle Takeko remained in Toyohisa's grasp but she raised her right hand to pull down his hand.

"Toyohisa. I can smell it. I can hear it. I know", Takeko said calmly tightening her grip on his right arm. Despite her calm voice he could feel her body tremble ever so slightly, he glanced down at her left hand to see that it was clenched so tightly that small beads of blood began dripping from her palms. After a moment of thought he slowly released Takeko from his hold and allowed her to see what was of the room in its entirety. She blinked her eyes several times, letting her eyes adjust to the sudden light. She watched the elves round up the men and cover the female elves. Most of them had been covered up. Her expression remained neutral, but there was an unspoken emotion in her eyes. What did she expect, this sort of thing were common. Women were often exploited in times of war, so this shouldn't be of shock to her. And yet it was. Why?

She let out a shaky breath as she walked further into the room, the elven woman looking up at her. Their eyes filled with shame and humility. It was one thing to be witnessed by the elven men but it was totally different when a fellow female saw something like these. A few more women sobbed, some just shook and shivered. She saw one elf woman, she looked even younger than she but she knew she much older. But it was the physical features that set her off. She shrugged off her outer cloak and gently draped it over the elf. The elf looked up at her with weary eyes, but there was this comradeship that the she-elf understood. She sobbed even harder mumbling her thanks over and over again. Takeko stood up, her expression unreadable.

Toyohisa had watched the entire interaction in silence, that one act of kindness from Takeko had all the female elves understand that she was not to jeer at them, nor scorn them. Toyohisa understood that she had already made a connection, these elven women would probably trust her more often now. It was just one gesture of kindness but it was enough to speak thousands of words. Takeko started making her way out but Toyohisa grabbed Takeko's hand and inspected the wound, she had dug her fingernails in so deeply that it cut the flesh. He sighed and tore a strip of cloth from his sash and wrapped up her left hand tightly to stop the blood-flow.

"Clothe the women! Gather the men in the courtyard!" Toyohisa ordered, signalling the elven men to round up the men. Walking with Takeko he bent down to whisper something, "Go crazy". She looked up and blinked owlishly before giving him a small smile. Although the smile was more dark rather than her usual cheery one. They all had one goal.

To kill all the vermin of this castle.

* * *

Oda had himself perched on the table with legs crossed, the entire room was a mess. All documents and articles were scattered across the room in such a manner, which could only be explained as a raid. He watched the elves go through the papers, stashing them into their bags.

"Get each and every document and map in this fortress. O not miss a single scribble. We are going to take everything with us", Oda said with a wicked grin as he fiddled with his fan.

"I…I can't believe…I can't believe you have really taken this fortress…" Olmine said in surprise as she looked around the room in amazement. She bent down to pick up some stray pieces of paper not really sure what to do with them though.

"Well, if it isn't you, my dear Olminipples", Oda said with a deadpanned expression. He crossed his arms behind him as he snapped his fan shut.

"I give up telling you to stop with your bad wordplays about my name…" Olmine said with an annoyed expression. She mentally sighed, how much longer did she have to deal with this man?

"Hey, the moment you give up is the moment the war is over, you know", Oda said in a bored manner. He turned away from her a moment and snapped his fingers at a huge painting, "By the way, who's this guy? This has got to be some huge painting", Oda said whilst looking up at the painting.

"He…he is the 'Vater', the 'Father' of this Orte country. He is the man who built the Orte Empire. It is said that he appeared suddenly some sixty years ago. Some say he was a Drifter; others say he was an Offscouring. But nobody knows for sure. One day, he appeared in a beer hall and incited people to take up arms. His exalted speeches and clever manipulation of the masses led to a civil unrest and he led the march to the capital. According to the records, it looked like 'he had great experience on this'. But after establishing the Orte Empire, he suddenly committed suicide. Nobody knows why he killed himself. Perhaps he was a Drifter…? Do you happen to know this guy?" Olmine said a matter of fact fashion, but she herself had no real idea on who this man was.

"Of course _not_. What's with the ridiculous moustache?" Oda said dully. He was about to add something else but an elf came through the doors.

"Nobunaga, sir!"

"What happened?" Oda said turning his head to the elf men, he furrowed his eyebrows slightly. What could've have happened that an elf would call him up?

"Toyo is dragging the enemy soldiers to the yard of the fortress. He's talking about something like 'nadegiri' and 'nekiri'", the elf male said plainly, not understanding the Japanese words he had uttered.

"Huh?! W-What did you say?!" Oda immediately jumped up and walked out of the room towards the courtyard. Damn it! His thoughts were rampant and he paced through the stone hallways, ' _Come on Toyo, how naïve can you be? Just look at the male elves! It is obvious that female elves must be quite attractive!_ ' His thoughts continued to darken as he quickened his pace.

"And what's 'nekiri'?" The elf from earlier asked.

"Kill them all", Oda said blandly. ' _Those soldiers were kidnapping them in a regular basis. It should be obvious that they were going to rape the female elves_ ', he thought. ' _You should've known it long before we stepped into the castle. Even Takeko had the hint of the idea as she wary enough when she saw the men._ _You want to kill everyone? No, don't do that. From the very beginning that is_ _my job_!' His thoughts were nothing of the sort you'd find in an ordinary mind. He even considered a man such as Toyohisa as naïve and pure, or perhaps it was just in his eyes. He continued to think to himself, ' _Leave the devious and shady business with me, the Demon Lord of the Sixth Heaven. And don't worry, I'm quite used to this_ '.

* * *

"Help…"

P-please…"

"Please spare our lives!"

Their pleas went unheard to Toyohisa as he watched the excuse for human beings plead for their lives. He was completely devoid of emotion at that moment, he could never forgive such men in his entire life. His father and uncles' would never allow him to enter the afterlife. He watched the elfish men give their spare clothing, or even their own clothing to the female elves. All of them had been locked up for so long that they didn't even know how to express their joy of being freed, they could only shed tears of despair as they know that years of their lives can never be taken back.

Toyohisa gritted his teeth in frustration, the only thing he could to the elves was there revenge, not years of their life back or their purity. But it was the only thing could offer. Takeko had politely asked one of the elves for a spare bow and some arrows, she had a smile plastered on her face. Laughing cheerily and talking casually to one of the she-elves, however her eyes glinted with blood-lust. And when she smiled she gritted her teeth, her brows seemed furrowed as well. Toyohisa had no doubt that she was forcing herself to smile and be cheery, but then he suddenly realised that she was not smiling for herself. She was smiling for the female elves.

"Hey do you realise what you are doing?! If the Central Government hears about this you will all be dead!" One of the soldiers said trying to impose some fear into them but it was futile attempt as they were far beyond the jaws of Death.

"Toyohisa sir! Give us the order to shoot, now!"

"Please, let us kill them!"

"Give me your order my Lord", Takeko ever so quietly, her eyes trained on the Governor and there was a lilting smile dancing on her lips. But this time it wasn't forced, but neither it was a expression of happiness. It was a strange mixture of gratification and hate.

Toyohisa shook himself out of his reverie, "Right, kil—"A resounding smacking sound could be heard and Oda managed to butt the end of his rifle into Toyohisa's head before he could give out the command. He fell onto the floor with a thud, Oda landed on his feet with a small thud. Takeko widened her eyes in shock, but before she make any sort of exclamation she caught his expression.

"Phew", Oda sighed. He straightened himself out as he gazed at the men and elf people, "Kill them".

"Kill them all. After bringing so much shame on the women for so long, don't you dare think that we will spare your lives just because you threw your weapons away and surrendered? You wanted so badly to kill all elves, so why so you find it weird that the elves want so badly to kill you? DIE. Die and become our gunpowder", Oda said with manic grin. He was the true depiction of the devil at that moment, ruthless and uncaring of consequences.

"Ah!"

"Prepare to fire!"

"AHHH! Stop!"

"Please stop!"

"Shut up! You never showed any mercy to us!"

"How dare you beg for mercy now?!"

"I-I was just sent here! I have done nothing wrong!" One man from the crowd managed to cry out, he truly had done nothing wrong. But what could he say now, his life was hanging by a spider thread.

"FIRE!" A distinct twang of arrows flew through the air, as the arrows punctured something, it was either the satisfying sound of flesh being pierced with dozens of arrow or the arrow hitting the wooden gate. Takeko had aimed her arrow ever so perfectly, it hits it mark. Right at the Governor's nether regions, there were other arrows in him of course. But she shot her arrow several second before Oda had given the command. The men cried out in shock and horror. They scrambled to get away but they were shot down quickly.

"Uh…" Toyohisa managed to say as he forced himself to look up. His head was ringing but he had his attention on the Demon Lord.

"Already awake? I thought I had hit you hard enough. You men from Satsuma are really tough", Oda stated. He turned around to face the red clad man as he pulled himself up from the ground. "I took care of the soldiers. Isn't it a beautiful sight to behold? You are just too young to give such orders. Let me do this job. And don't you worry about me. My hands are already just too bloodstained! Ise and Nagashima! Mount Hiei and the Enryakuji temple! Asai and Asakura! I have countless-"He was suddenly pounded in the face with a fist. He tumbled back for a moment as he fell onto the floor with a thud, Oda looked up in shock as he saw Toyohisa cross his arms in a sort of defiance.

"And so what?! I have nothing to do with your stuff! And I couldn't care less about all that!" Toyohisa proclaimed loudly with a huff, how annoying and irritating. He had looked forward in watching them die, but now there was only dead bodies. He clicked his tongue in annoyance as hated seethed off his body, directing it to Oda. Oda returned it in the same favour.

"I'm ho~me! What, are they fighting? Oh my", Yoichi said as he popped out behind Olmine as she stood as a silent witness. She cried out in surprise.

"It's not a fight", Toyohisa simply said.

"Indeed", Oda agreed with a smirk.

"Yes. It's not a fight", Yoichi chimed.

' _It's been a long time since I was last scolded with a punch. I guess my father was the last to do that. Oh wait, Hirate gramps also did. And now look at me. I've become older than my father…_ ' Oda was immersed in his thoughts so much that he hadn't even realised that there was still one remaining man standing.

He looked like an utter mess with tears flowing down from his face, arrows had been scattered around him but none had hit him.

"I've done nothing! Nothing! I haven't slept with any women! I swear!" He repeated like a mantra, even at this situation he tried to find reason with himself and the Drifters and elves.

"Hey, there's still one standing", Yoichi said looking at the pathetic man.

"Even now, he keeps saying that he did nothing at all. If we kill him, we will be as despicable as those damn soldiers", Shara said, distaste dripped from his words and rolled off his tongue.

"Yes, I guess you're right", Yoichi said calmly. He didn't know the full story of had happened but he had an idea. Takeko seemed a little moody seeing that she was not saying one word so it was obvious that she was upset by the defiling of the women. Toyohisa seemed like his usual self but if one looked closely they could see that he was a little more sensitive of the subject surrounding women. Probably out of pity for Takeko.

"Poor thing. Ominipples, let the guy fondle your breasts to console him", Oda said with a smirk.

"Elves, please shoot this idiot. Also I'm pretty sure Takeko has the same breast size as me, so why do you never make such crude comments to her?" Olmine said in irritation.

"You think I haven't already?", Oda said plainly as if it was the most common of knowledge. "The only difference is that she has the capability of doing something terrible to my body, an I don't want that". He eyed her rifle and naginata, yes. She could deal some great damage to his body if he tried anything like that to her. Also he had a degree of respect to her but he left that unsaid.

"Let is behead the corpses and give them a decent burial", Toyohisa suddenly said out of the blue, breaking the awkward silence.

"No, matter how damnable, their souls still become a Buddha after they die. But we will use their bodies to produce gunpowder", Oda said.

"No problem with that Keko?" Toyohisa turned to Takeko who was very quiet.

"Huh? Yeah sure. They're already dead anyways", Takeko mumbled as she prodded one of the bodies with an arrow.

* * *

 _The rumours on those Drifters started spreading like fire to the nearby villages. "The Drifters saved an elven village", "And too the fortress of the local governor". As the captive elven women were returned to their villages, the doubtful rumours became an exhilarating truth. But the women also carried a 'gift' carefully prepared by Nobunaga. It was a "manifesto". True to the style of Nobunaga, the message grasped the hearts of the readers and inflamed their souls._

" _You want a country? Then I will give you one! Join our forces! Do nothing and a new governor will come. What will you do then? Will you consent to offer your women once again? Will you let your women be defiled again in shame and dishonour?"_

 _And Nobunaga also sent another file with excerpts of the documents he found in the fortress, showing how the Orte Empire was on the brink of collapse. A cunning man indeed! And the elves started one unrest after another. The occupied elven territories were now escaping the control from the Orte forces._

* * *

May not update for some time.

Edit: I have changed some parts of this chapter, from future me. I may not be uploading chapters but I heavily editing the old chappies. 08/10/2016


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Tired

His cheeks looked like puffed up fried tofu, it was hilarious yet terrifyingly scary.

"You still angry?" Toyohisa said with a sigh, his voice tired and chiding. He was still unsure what this man really was, it was certain by now that he was indeed Nobunaga Oda, however there were times of doubt. Especially right now.

"Don't you think it's time to cheer up? You are a grown up, don't act like a child", Yoichi chimed as he popped out behind Oda's behind. "To begin with, you are a former Udaijin, right?"

"To begin with, why are you so angry?" Toyohisa said once more.

Something snapped in Oda's somewhat contained anger, "Of course I'm angry! Why did you create a council system having the elvish elders as councillors?! And why did you leave the power in the hands of that damn council?! You could be King! You could have all the power in you hands!" This blithering idiot was ruining everything he had planned out!

Toyohisa paused a moment before answering him back, "...I'm not good at strategies. I don't know how to read the minds of people", he said calmly but the calmness was accompanied by the chilling realisation that Toyohisa was actually reasoning with him civilly and not with his fists. "Nobu, you have the ability to read into the mind of anyone you want. But you don't know how to read the thoughts they have in their hearts", Toyohisa said his eyes impossibly dark as he stared right at Oda. "Certainly, the 'elves' will follow us for now. We can be kings, emperors, anything we want. But, someday, you can be sure that they will draw their weapons against us. They do will do so while we're asleep in some temple. And when we wake up we will be surrounded by fire and arrows", his voice getting heavier with each word as he rested his hands on his hips. "Do you want to go through another Honnouji? I don't".

This struck something inside Oda as he was taken aback, "I can't read the hearts of people...right", he admitted begrudgingly. "Your words were something I didn't want to hear. But I don't want another Honnouji! I've had enough of betrayals", Oda grimaced as his leaned back. This man was a vagabond to a military genius at the snap of the fingers, so unpredictable and almost impossible to control but he would manage it. Nothing was impossible in this world, or any world.

"I've forgotten that he can be smart", Takeko said quietly as she sat up a little. Toyohisa took a full ten seconds before catching onto what she had said.

"What's that supposed to mean!" He yelled at her. She covered her ears to block out his loud voice. She looked up at him with smile.

"Exactly as I said", she laughed as she covered her ears once again to block out much of the noise. But Yoichi managed to interject a comment before he was able to shout at her.

"By the way, how many reasons did you face?"

Oda took a moment to think about it, counting them at the top of his head, before answering, "Well, let's see. My younger brother Nobukatsy twice and Katsuie and Hayashi, Asai Matsunag twice, Araki, Hatano, Bessho, Mitsuhide and...", his mumbled and with each new name he interjected a almost demon-like voice muttering, 'I will never forgive'.

"That's way too much!" Toyohisa cried out.

* * *

"Please take a bath, you stink especially", Takeko said as she pulled out a bucket of water. "You either wash yourself or I dump you in the nearest river", several more elves brought more buckets of water. Toyohisa sat there with a dumbfounded expression, he hadn't expected her to drag him to an empty room for her to have him wash. She pulled out some old blankets and draped them over the open window gaps. The blankets were thick enough to block any peeping eyes, but thin enough to have the light seep through the woven threads. She did the same with door but instead with wooden planks, graciously writing 'Do not disturb' on one of the planks.

She chucked him a spare cloth and a bar of soap, which he managed to drop. She looked around with a pleased expression, "This room will be the bathing room. It is clean enough and with some glowing embers we can keep the water warm long enough for one wash". Toyohisa was speechless for most of the part but when she began leaving the room he spoke up.

"All of this is unnecessary, I can just splash some cold water on myself in the forest", Toyohisa said as he looked around. Takeko narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Thank you for your efforts though", Toyohisa mumbled as he pulled off his vest, throwing it aside. She blinked her eyes in surprise, a smile tugging at her lips yet she relented from doing so.

"Give me your vest and shirt", she said holding out her arms. "I'll wash them quickly and hang them by a fire so they dry faster. I'll do it quickly so they should only be moist when you finish with your washing. You can keep your pants, they are not so dirty". Toyohisa handed her the articles of clothing wordlessly, she scrunched her nose. The smell of blood and sweat was extremely strong, but with some washing it should be fine.

"Thanks", Toyohisa said again. He knew she had no obligation to do anything of their chores; she did their cooking, cleaning and sewing and practically dealt with any of their needs. He almost forgot what it was like having someone tend to their needs, after all they were in a different world now. No-one knew who the hell they were, unless they were another Drifter. He was grateful for her help and he was sure that Nobu and Yoichi were also grateful for dealing with the mediocre tasks. She had been doing it for them for six months after all.

* * *

"What on earth are they doing? What are they doing with the bathroom soil?" Shara said in astonishment looking at Oda who was crouched down on the ground, placing buckets full of excrement together.

"Have no idea", Olmine said with a bead of sweat travelling from her forehead, honestly what were they doing?

Oda let out a sinister chuckle, "Take care. Or else you'll be blown up", he said smugly to one of the elves. They didn't know what they handling, but Oda knew exactly what he was dealing with. One wrong move and he could end up into fleshy pulp. "Hey, Shara go to the guys from the other villages. Tell them to bring all the soil they can get from bathrooms, stables, pigpens and alike".

"Why do you want so much shit?"

Before Oda reply to him another elf to him, "Nobu, sir".

"So, how was it?" Oda said turning his full attention to the elf, his eyes trailed down to the matchlock he held.

"I asked the blacksmiths of every village. All of them said that this is a too complex equipment to copy", the elf diligently answered. Looking down at the strange pole, it was similar to Lady Takeko's strange pole but it was a little different.

"I see. Now I realise how amazing the Sakai and Kunitomo guys were", Oda mumbled to himself crossing his arms behind him. "And who can manufacture this?"

"…Probably dwarves. Their blacksmiths are the only decent thing they have", the elf said with hesitance. The elves and the dwarves haven't had a pretty history, when they weren't at each other's throats they were bad mouthing each other.

"Dwarves? I see", Oda said already deep in thought. He let out a frustrated sigh, he thought about how they were to transfer the powder, they needed carriages and horses, that was a given but there wasn't enough horses.

* * *

"YAAAAAH!" Toyohisa yelled, he swung his sword with such power that the trees didn't even stand a chance. They gave a groan and after a moment they gave in into their own weight and came down with a cracking crash shaking the forest floor. He turned his attention back to the elves who stood there dumbfounded, not really knowing what to say after seeing such an amazing feat.

"This is Satsuma's swordfight. Think of nothing else but putting everything into the first strike", Toyohisa said in a matter-of-fact tone. Toyohisa mentally sighed, what was he doing with these skinny elves? Their physique was not made for such vigorous activities, and especially not endurance. They also lacked the appropriate attitude. He'd be better off sleeping the rest of the day.

"Uh…uhm…If the first strike doesn't connect…or if the enemy evades, what should we do?"

"Die gracefully. You'll be the first ones to walk the path of death. And this is quite an honour", Toyohisa said with a smirk. The elves stared in shock at him, Toyohisa realising it would be pointless to continue the lesson dismissed them.

"Alright, that's enough for today. You can go back to campsite or go to Yoichi. You guys seem to work better with him", Toyohisa said while waving them off. The elves seemed eager enough as they grabbed their belongings and quickly dashed off back to the campsite. Toyohisa let out a tired sigh, what was he to do now? Take a nap?

There was a slight rustling behind the trees which Toyohisa had his eyes trained on but when he heard the humming of a woman he immediately relaxed. Takao emerged from the thick of the trees triumphantly with a basketful of plants, the forest was brim filled with all sorts of medicinal herbs and mushrooms. She was not so sure about which things were edible or which weren't poisonous but soon after trial and error and some basic knowledge she managed to understand. Also with the elves help she slowly learnt about the forests fauna and flora.

She looked up at him with owl-like eyes,, wide and inquisitive but at the same time rather far and enclosed. She tilted her head to one side and smiled, "What are you doing?" She shook the dry leaves from her hair as she finally made it into the small clearing, she sniffed to smell some sort grassy odour penetrating through the air. It was strong and rather overwhelming, but as soon as she looked to her left and saw the cut down tree she knew what happened. She limped slightly, there was a stinging sensation in her legs but she ignored it. It didn't hurt if she didn't pay attention to it.

"I was attempting to teach the elves the way of the sword", Toyohisa said as he sat on the stump of the fallen tree. He was watched her slink away from the leaves as she sat in front of him just metres away. Toyohisa got a better look at then, her sleeves were dirtied from the earth, her face had small scratches around the sides from the stray branches and twigs and if he noticed carefully he realised she was limping ever so slightly.

"And I suppose that did not go so well", she replied with a mocking smile as she set down her basket on the ground, watching some ants crawl on some blades of grass. She fiddled with some stalks of plants, peeling the sinewy strings from the stalk, boredom plagued her mind and she was tired.

Toyohisa pointed to her leg, he could see some red patches of blood soaking through the fabric. "What happened there?"

She pulled the fabric up to reveal her scrapped up knees, "I tripped", she said simply. Toyohisa only had several seconds to admire her well-toned legs, before before she pulleddown the fabric. "I'll clean it up when I get back", she concluded. Toyohisa nodded absentmindedly as he turned to look away, trying to look disinterested.

Silence encompassed the air around them, they didn't really know what to say but they were quite comfortable with saying nothing. He didn't know when he fell asleep but he did, the sun was still in the sky but soon it would dip below the horison, he could feel the heat from the Rays on his skil begin cooling. And as soon as the shadows began to elongate, Takeko had disappeared into the mouth of the forest leaving Toyohisa by himself once more. The rustling of leaves and crunching of grass was the only indication that she had even left, he cracked one eye open her to watch her slowly disappear into the withdrawn shadows, ghosting among the bushes and trees, her eyes focused on something but he wasn't sure. She left much too quickly for his liking, it would've been better if there something they couldve related to in common but he knew nothing of her and yet she knew everything of him. It was albeit frustrating. He decidedly thought that being accompanied with someone, even if they weren't talking was a pleasant feeling. Although she was a queer she a somewhat interesting companion to be around with.

* * *

Future me: I heavily changed this chapter and my OC, so if you read this before then you'll see the changes.

amy yu 1214. deviant art art / Nakano- Takeko - 556940798 (you should ignore this)


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: First Greetings from the Offscouring

"It's useless to teach my sword skills to the elves. They have no aptitude for it", Toyohisa said blandly. He rubbed the back of his neck, whilst letting out a tired sigh. It was already late into the night and yet the three still stood in the room trying to figure out how to deal with their many problems. Oda hummed in response, scratching his chin as he thought for a moment.

"On the other hand, they are amazing with the bow", Oda said slowly still thinking of what to do with their situation. Elves weren't field fighters, they best worked high above where they could shoot the enemies. If they engaged in hand-to-to hand combat they would most certainly die. So they needed soldiers, battle hardened soldiers who could charge straight into the line of fire without a look back. So far they only had Toyohisa and Takeko who could fight like this but two against a whole army? That was just pleading for Death's embrace.

"Their shooting skills seem to be innate", Yoichi agreed nodding his head. It wouldn't be long until there was nothing left for him to teach, the rate they were learning was much too abnormal but considering the situation they were in it would even be better if they were learn even faster.

"The back smiths of the villages said that…" Oda paused the hairs on his arms were prickling and tingling. His eyes widening, it was recognisable and he didn't like it. "This sensation…this disgusting yet familiar sensation", Oda murmured, he rubbed his arms, the goose bumps had not gone away.

Yoichi stood still for a moment, "…What is this awful feeling?" He said his eyes narrowing a little. It was all too familiar.

"What?" Olmine said as she looked around the room not understanding what the problem was. What's up with them, was something wrong?

"What's coming? This feeling…No, not soldiers from Orte. Something else is coming", Toyohisa said his eyes wide open and his brows furrowed. "This is the same 'smell of Sekigahara", Toyohisa mumbled, he could feel his blood boiling once more. His eyes hardening at the thought of another fight, he was not yet satisfied with this worl, there was something it was lacking.

"The nauseating small of a disgusting war", Oda continued. A bang suddenly resounding the campus made them look up in surprise, the three men immediately turned their attention towards the window slit and raced to see what was happening outside.

Takeko looked up from the campsite and waved them over with huge gestures, "We have a problem!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, ducking as a horse riders spear narrowly nicked her rib. She in return pulled out a dagger and threw it in his general direction, hitting his backside "Hurry! There's fire!" Takeko urged once more, this time she grabbed a rider from his horse and stabbed him with his own spear, the horse rearing up and galloping away with the now dead rider still attached. Oda turned away from the window slit to get down to gather the remaining elves, he turned to realise that Toyohisa and Yoichi had already left.

"Tche, bloody youngsters…" Oda muttered as he went to grab his matchlock.

* * *

"There they are! There they are! I can feel their stench! The stench of the Drifters!" A foreign girl said, she was clad in a strange metal armour with several knives tied to her belt as well as a sword. Flames seemed to dance upon her skin as she turned her attention to the just awakened elves who were still disorientated from their sleep. She let out a loud cackle as flames erupted from her hand and ignited the elves and their tents aflame. Their screams went unheard to her as she continued to ignite the Drifters entire campus.

"Come to me, my dear Drifters! Let me burn to ashes! HAHAHAHA!" The flames created long drawn out shadows which even heightened the young girl's demonic presence, she continued to alight more and more elves and tents aflame. She had set her eyes on the stone fortress but before she could even set her flames upon it a knife came flying out from the flames cutting her right cheek, the blade collided with a tree behind her and lodged itself within the wood. Her eyes widened in shock as she felt her blood trickle from the cut, she focused her gaze on a shadow of a figure which pushed the flames apart as it neared the foreign girl.

"Enough with your flames, you already set this entire bloody area on fire", Takeko said smoothly but it was under laced with annoyed tone as she emerged from the fire, her eyes lustre was gone and there was not a trace of warmth to be found within the orbs. But yet there was a lilting smile dancing her lips, she tilted her head to one side and leaned forward, inspecting the foreigner. It was eerie to look at, she smiled but her eyes did to reciprocate the same emotion. The flames licked around her feet and dress but otherwise didn't burn her. Her eyes wandered around the campsite, as well as searching for the foreign girl's companion, she caught sight of him on the other-side on the site. He had a spear drawn out and remained a silent witness. She looked down at the fire-girl's clothing, European, no. Not just European, French armour, she thinned her lips. Was she supposed to fight this young girl who looked even younger than she? Takeko almost mistook the enemy as a boy but her voice was to high-pitched and her figure was too womanly to be of a males.

"And there she is!" The foreign girl said wickedly with and equally sinister grin, the flames seemed to glow and burn even brighter. The night was no longer dark but illuminated not only by the moon but the burning passion of the flames. Toyohisa had a huge grin as he watched the two females stand opposite to one another, the fire continued to burn around them creating a repugnant stench of ash and smoke but both ignored it.

"Who shall win I wonder?" Toyohisa said to himself as he perched himself on one of trees branches which had not yet caught on fire. He let out a small chuckle, a mishap boy pretending to be a warrior versus a female warrior who had proven herself more than one occasion to be an adept fighter, it was obvious who was going to win even if the punk had sorcery.

* * *

"Shara, gather the men. Don't forget the bows. Make sure women and children are safe in the woods", Oda ordered as he started to move out from the castle. He observed the elves move around in a jumbled mess, trying to find order within the chaos.

"I will crush them horse riders", Oda said, his brows furrowed with his more prominent wrinkles showing.

"You sure you can handle this?" Yoichi said as he pulled out his bow and checked the strings tension.

"You have no means to know, but were there a contest of cavalry crushing, I would be the best in the whole universe", Oda said with a smug grin, of course Yoichi was born of ahead his time and did not know of his accomplishments but Takeko and Toyohisa fully knew what he was capable of, and showed their respect towards him their own way. Toyohisa would argue with Oda and clash heads with him every now and then but they had a mutual respect. Takeko was more obvious, she would always bow slightly in the presence of an older male and say her greetings. But there were times where she just couldn't care less about his achievements and treated him like any other ordinary person.

"In this case, I leave them to you", Yoichi said with a small smile, he turned his gaze towards the spearman who was covered in long chains. His long spikey hair billowed behind him and he had multiple tattoos across his chest and arms. He had a strange armour which only seemed to cover half of his body, leaving the other half bare. He stood alone and just stared at the archer with vindictive eyes with a grimace. "Looks like I have an appointment with that gentleman", Yoichi said and pulled out an arrow his readied his bow. Riddle the man with arrows and that spearman will be a dead man.

"Gilles de Rais, kill that she-male! I will burn this Drifter to cinders!" The French girl yelled to the spearman, Takeko narrowed her eyes. The flames reflected off her eyes making them seem red and glowing.

"Jeanne. 'Bon voyage'", Gilles responded, immediately his spun his spear around and held it with both hands, his back hunched over and his hands tightly holding the spear. His stance was taken and without another word he lurched the spear into a throttling pivot which missed its target but utterly dismantled the wall behind Yoichi. The rock was flung around and debris seemed to fall from the sky.

Yoichi gritted his teeth as he ducked down to avoid the flying debris, "Didn't expect you to slice the stone wall of this castle. What a strength! You look like Musashibou!" Yoichi said with a wry grin as he thought of the old monk and his abnormal power. Old times indeed but it was long gone.

"DRIFTERS! The puny obstacle for the world annihilation plans laid by the Black Lord! All Drifters will be roasted to death!" The girl said as flames continued to leap from her skin and face, she had a smug grin as if proclaiming that she had already won the fight.

"Ah, I see. You one are those 'Offscouring'. Tell me girl, is your 'Lord' that desperate to annihilate this world that he employs young girls that obviously haven't reached puberty yet to do his dirty work? Or are you even a girl at all?" Takeko said lightly, although there was no malice in her words there was a sort of jeering underlying her sentence. Also her posture and stance seemed to aggravate the Offscouring, Takeko was relaxed and she made no move to attack first.

The Offscouring's eyes seemed to contort in rage and disfigure the skin around her eyes. She gritted her teeth so hard that blood seeped from her lips, and suddenly like a ticking-time bomb her rage turned into waves of fire. A crying bellow came from the girl as her entire body went up in flames, Takeko widened her eyes at the spectacle and in the very last moment jumped out of the way of the fires path. She crouched herself low on the ground to avoid any more flames. She took a quick look around her and realised that a circle of fire was starting to surround her. She narrowed her eyes at her predicament but didn't let any worry show on her face.

"You are nimble, 'fille salope'! But you've got nowhere to run now! What are you going to do?!" The Offscouring laughed aloud, her flames swirled around her palms. "What are you going to do Drifter?! _You are trash here_!" She waved her right arm to complete the encirclement of fire, fully intent on trapping the Drifter in her flames. And it would've actually have happened if not the two stone walls that burst out from the ground which stopped the flames in its path.

Takeko widened her eyes as she saw Olmine appear from behind her, at the briefest glance she saw the girl throw a small piece of paper onto the ground. The moment the piece of paper contacted the ground a huge stone wall shot out from the ground shielding both the explosive path of fire which collided into the wall. Takeko watched the flames flow around the wall on the two sides, but what amazed her more was that Olmine could even use sorcery as well.

"What…the…!" The Offscouring yelled shocked at the new person appear as well as the surprise of the appearance of the stone walls.

"I'm from the Octobrist Organisation! And our duty is…to protect the Drifters!" Olmine managed to stutter out, despite her best tries to remain strong it was obvious that she was out of her element here. Beads of sweat travelled from her forehead and her entire body was shaking. Her palms was clammy and she really started to regret that she hadn't written a will before jumping in to save Takeko.

The French girl yelled out in shock and in an attempt to fry both girls' alive threw another flash of fire in their direction. Takeko realised this and grabbed Olmine by her collar and pulled her along as they ran out of the way of the fire. Olmine screamed out in terror as she saw a train of fire follow after them, but she kept running.

"Never knew you could use sorcery Olmine!" Takeko shouted over the raging fire, she quickly pulled her down a downward slope to avoid the flames. The both of them slid down the slope and landed down with a soft thud.

Olmine quickly straightened herself but she was still visibly shaken, "Uh…actually…the only thing I can do…is to build that stone wall…" Olmine said trying to explain herself. "A…and…I can only build two more walls…My great master could do way better, but…I…I am still a rookie…so…I'm sorry", Olmine continued. She cast her gaze down in shame, she understood that she wasn't much help in fighting or war. But she really did her best.

"Nonsense, I wouldn't be here if it weren't for your stone walls", Takeko said calmly. She stood up and bowed slightly bowing her head as well but keeping her eyes on Olmine, "Your help was much appreciated", Takeko said with ease and a small genuine smile.

Olmine's face became a scarlet red which would've put many roses to shame, "S…stop it, please!" Olmine managed to stutter, "Look around you! Fire is burning and you have an enemy to fight! You shouldn't have time for this!" She yelled at Takeko, her blush deepening even further.

"Indeed! But one should always show his gratitude on the spot. Otherwise, it's most certain that he will forget how to say thanks", Toyohisa said as he appeared from behind Takeko, he wore a huge smirk which soon erupted into a wide grin. Olmine squeaked out in surprise but Takeko had already knew that he was there.

"You're thinking what I'm thinking Toyohisa?" Takeko said coolly, as she pulled back her hair and let out a small and tired sigh.

"The enemy uses a powerful technique. But probably has no experience in the battlefield", Toyohisa began as he hunched over looking at the flames leap around in the wind. He had a knowing smirk on his face.

"A greenhorn", Takeko finished for him, Toyohisa looked at Takeko and grinned at her, he ruffled her hair as if she was dog. She grabbed his hand which he tried to pull away and bit it, not very hard but he understood the warning.

"H-how…How do you know…?" Olmine said in surprise. How could the both of them be so sure, one wrong assumption and all of them could be death.

"Intuition", the both of them said at the same time. They both looked at Olmine as if she was the dumbest person on earth.

"But look. It seemed that the enemy is indulging in a display of power as if wanting to show its might to someone else. 'Behold the power I have earned!' 'Look at me! Awe at me!' typical of a greenhorn. Someone who had never stepped a foot into a battlefield before", Toyohisa said as he observed the fire. He had a malicious grin on face which spoke many things at once.

"And thus…easy to kill", Takeko finished for him, she had her eyes closed but the sound of battle kept her sharp and aware of her surroundings. She slowly opened her eyes to only see the burning bright flames of fire engulf the entire campus in its fiery rage. This was somewhat gratifying, but yet at the same time she didn't want to fight the girl. It wasn't because she was not capable of killing a girl, she just didn't want to kill this one girl. She narrowed her eyes at the thought and decided that perhaps she would remain the observer this time. She didn't need to fight and she was happy to be a scapegoat. She wasn't seeking glory, all she wanted was to live a fulfilling life.

' _Damn these 'samurai' from 'Nippon_ '', Olmine thought while she chewed her bottom lip. ' _This is what makes you so fearsome! Death and gratitude shown through the same damn smile!'_ She thought in fear and awe all at the same time.

"You said you can build two more wallS?" Toyohisa said turning his attention to the distant cried of anger in the distance, the Offscouring was mad. There was a plan forming in his mind, vague and unclear however it was there and it could be put into motion.

"Uh…yeah…right", Olmine said slowly, not understanding the meaning of the question.

"Then, build them when I tell you so. After that…flee to the woods", Toyohisa said narrowing his eyes. "I and Takeko will take care of the rest", he took a glance at Takeko, "Hey, Takeko you alright?" Toyohisa said, staring at the lithe woman next to him. She blinked her eyes a couple times before nodding absentmindedly. He knew that was strange but considering the time pressures they had he didn't look too closely into it.

"Yeah I'm fine, sorry sir", Takeko mumbled, her eyes were no longer clouded, she finally understood what she wanted to do in this world. She slowly got and unruffled her clothes, the bells tied around her waist tinkling as she readjusted her obi. Toyohisa nodded in response and straight ended himself as well, a dancing smile on his lips. He was going to leave everything to her but in the end he couldn't resist and she wasn't complaining so he took it as she didn't mind.

"Alright let's go then", he said coolly and walked towards the sound of angered bellows.

* * *

Fille salope – slutty girl

Hey, my holidays are coming up so hopefully I'll be able to update more often.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Revealing of the Many

"Where are you hiding? Don't be shy and show up! Drifter! Or else, else everything will burn down! The forest, the castle, everything!" The Offscouring cried out, fully intending to find the oriental maiden and burning her to bitter ashes. She had never been so insulted in her entire life and if she were to let such a woman live she wouldn't ever have a good nights rest. Although the one who answered her was not who she expected, it was a Drifter nonetheless.

"That is our castle. Though it may be in ruins, that is our castle", Toyohisa stated in a jeering voice. He had his arms crossed and stood tall, the light from the fire cast elongated shadows in front of him giving him a more menacing look. Toyohisa peered at the slip of a soldier and scowled a little, this 'fight' wouldn't take long and hopefully he would be able to return back to camp and perhaps also fight with the spear-man. The Offscouring girl swerved her head around to see an unknown male in front of her. She narrowed her eyes, where was that bitch. That black-haired wench who dared to insult her!

"You are not her, where is that 'chienne'?" The Offscouring said in such a tone that one could even hear the malice roll off her tongue. The fire burned even more brightly, illuminating the rustic landscape with a passion. "Tell me or you shall be burnt to crisp!"

"Yoohoo!" Takeko slinked behind Toyohisa, smiling, her eyes this time reciprocated the same emotion but it was a slightly different type of happiness.

"You're alright with doing nothing", Toyohisa said lightly but with a huge smirk on his face. He knew he shouldn't be having so much fun but it had been a while since he had been in the midst of a battle. It wasn't a proper one but it was better than nothing. She nodded as her eyes were pinned on the Offscouring.

"Then I shall burn you both!" She yelled out, in defiance she whipped out several knives from her belt and hurtled them right into the ground. Although none of them hit Toyohisa it wasn't even her intention in the first place. With the knives as a sort of guideline the flames followed the knives path and completely blocked off Toyohisa's and Takeko's two sides with a wall of fire.

Toyohisa ignored the walls of fire as it wouldn't hinder his plan, although it could also be called a suicide attempt if another one thought about it. He spared Takeko a glance, his eyes in bewilderment as she saw her gazing lovingly at the flames. the blazing wisps of fire was the only thing reflected in her eyes. "Such a pretty colour", he heard her murmur softly. It was almost inaudible against the raging fire, but to him it was the only thing he heard.

"And now, you are not able to flee from me!" She said with a wicked grin, having the satisfaction that the Japanese man and woman wouldn't be able to escape through the walls of fire and the only exit was behind them. And if they dared turned she would fry them to a crisp.

"Indeed. I will not be able to hide from you", Toyohisa said, with one hand behind him he signalled Olmine discreetly. She was squatting directly behind him sweating profusely, she had managed to steel her resolve but she honestly thought Toyohisa had gone mad. Takeko took no notice, merely staring at the flames, she was enraptured by the flames and its veracity. The French girl took notice of the little magician and narrowed her eyes.

"You don't learn do you?!" She said in impassive tone. She eyed the magician, having learnt from before of the girl's power she drew out her arm to command her sea of fire to engulf the both of before the girl could cast anymore of her stone walls. But before she could even put her flames unto them Olmine set one of her seals upon the floor behind Toyohisa and Takeko.

A huge stone wall burst forth from the ground, completely severing his only hope of escape. Toyohisa once feeling the wall emerge from the ground crouched down and placed his hand against the cool surface of the stone. He grinned even wider, a madman would've even run away in fear, but the red clad man just continued to crouch there in front of the wall. Takeko felt the coolness of the stone emanate, sending chills down her heated skin. She took one glance at Toyohisa, his eyes only reflected glee and sheer joy. He too had been enraptured, but not by the fire but the calling of a fight. This was something beyond the normal standards but his entirety called out for this. Ignoring all the substantial risks and that he had a companion he should be worried about. But at the same time he knew she would not care and she would not worry as much as Olmine for his safety.

"He cut off his retreat route! Fool! Have you gone mad?! You've doomed you and her!" Surprise and shock all at once could be described in the girl's face. He had practically killed himself and the female Drifter, but what was more surprising was perhaps Takeko's calm expression as she watched Jeane. One of her eyes had turned black and smoke seemed to flow from her skin. Half her face was disfigured as if she had been burnt badly by her own fire, but she made no indication that it had.

"Indeed", Toyohisa said proudly, "There is no single warrior from Satsuma who hasn't gone mad". He pulled his sash apart dropping his spare sword and matchlock onto the ground, he drew the silvery blade from its sheath and dropped the sheath to onto the ground. Keeping one sword with him, the rest was extra weight for him and useless at this moment. Takeko bent down to gather up the dropped articles of clothing and weaponry wordlessly. She couldn't leave them by itselves. He bit the blade part of the sword, keeping careful not to cut his own lips in the process. He released his hold on the handle and kept the sword held by his mouth.

"Well. Now, your head is mine!" He said, his words were muffled but it could still be clearly beard. His arms were held out in front him creating a sort of guard, as if he was preparing for a launch. He could feel his blood boiling and it was as if his soul was about to jump out from his body any moment. He relished these sensations, it was what made him so alive, and he treasured each feeling. He then completely disregarded Takeko's presence as she suddenly became a background image for him, and yet she said nothing. Allowing herself to become a shadow in comparison to his burning glory.

' _What is this man?! What is this man?! I don't get it! He cut off his own escape route, yet! What is this man?! Who is this man?! I don't get it! I can't get it! Is he willing to die?!'_

* * *

She came up to Toyohisa holding out his weaponry, she stared impassively down at the unconscious girl. He shook his head wildly to rid of the water, resulting in water droplets to land of Takeko as well. She remained quiet though, still patiently holding out his belongings. She wanted to say something but she held her tongue until the right moment. He took his stuff from her hands and thanked her quietly as he retied his sash on. Sheathing his blade once more, it was clean without the trace of blood on it. She took notice of this and her lips thinned a little but she said nothing. But he caught onto her expression.

"I'm not killing her. I will not kill a woman", he said firmly. He said no further than that, but from his understanding she was not one to ask questions but rather obey commands. He didn't understand women in general but it was somewhat easier to understand her, she was a soldier, she was not the type to take command but was more obliged to follow orders. He didn't know whether it was because she was a woman, or it was how she was raised or it was just her personal interest. That part of her was still rather elusive but most of her intention veiled and kept close to her.

"Is that so", Takeko said, her tone was almost emotionless and her gaze never changed. "However I do think differently, but perhaps just this one I will this matter be", she said as she turned away. Her thoughts trailing to the idea of killing the girl without Toyohisa's knowing but she decided against it. She stopped just for a moment to wait for him, she half-turned her body to stare back at him. "The others are waiting my Lord", she said with a smile although her eyes were detached from her smile. Toyohisa could see it, but he didn't question it.

"Alright. Let's go", he said marching past her. he could hear the tinkling of the bells which followed him, he wondered why did she wear such bells which clearly told the enemies of her position. He mouthed his question to her as the tinkling of the bells continued.

Takeko lightly skipped up to walk beside him, her hand palming onto the small bronze bells, muffling its distinct trill. "They're meant to be heavenly charms to ward away sickness and disease", she said with a small laugh. This time her eyes reflected the same emotion, dark humour. "Small gifts from my brother", she continued.

"Your brother must've worried for you then", Toyohisa said, he had many brothers too, as well as cousins and they were all battle in arms. He did miss them as well but he lingered in the past for too long he would not be able to move forward. And he was sure his death was of great sadness for them but he had no doubts that he would not linger in their hearts for too long.

"He is naive as you, even though he is just ten", the bells tinkling with each movement she made. "A precarious child he is and a strangely similar name to yours".

He raised a brow in question, his attention on her as she walked on.

"Toyo-Ki, was the name which father gave to him", there was a sombre tone which he caught on. But he noticed the similarities of their name, although he was sure despite sounding alike the meaning were different.

"Your words are heavy with regret", he said. He was not a complete idiot as one might suspect. He may not be able to handle a situation delicately let alone a single conversation but there were times he would understand that these small gestures of gentleness was necessary.

She stopped for a moment, he stopped as well. She looked down at the ground, her brows furrowed in deep thought. She was contemplating over her words, she was stepping into a dangerous territory. Becoming familiar with a man was one thing but her commander was another and she was not too sure if she wanted to him to know. But after some thought, she decided it would not change their relationship and spoke. "I wish I could've seen him grow up. Mother is of no more and I practically was the one who raised him. But all I can hope for him is he finds a nice girl and settle down in such a torn country", she said, almost immediately feeling like she revealed a part of her that she shouldn't have. She started walking again, this time Toyohisa did not follow her but when they were almost out of earshot from each other he spoke.

"It is natural to think of your loved ones, but don't let it affect your actions in battle", Toyohisa called out.

She stopped, of course he would say that. That brawn-head, she knew it was for her safety but she couldn't help feeling a little annoyed. Not everything was about fighting and war.

"Your head is filled with nothing but war and food, you heaven-forsaken brawn-head!" She shouted out before dashing off as laughter filled the silence. She managed to hear his bellows in response to her insult. She smiled even wider as she disappeared into the darkness.

* * *

"'Abe no Haruakira'? So, you are Abe no Seimei!" Oda said in surprise as he looked down at the young man who looked a little older than fifteen. He was shocked at the arrival of such a famous person from history but more shocked that he looked so bloody young considering the existing documents told the famous magician to be over eighty years old.

"You are kind enough to politely call me as 'Seimei'. But I'm not that great a person to be worthy of such deference", the man said with a thinned lips as he gazed upon the eye-patched man. Abe had no idea who he was, but it was sure that the man was from the far future.

"Good. It seems that you took care of everything here", Toyohisa said as he managed to walk through a cluster of trees, shaking off a few stray leaves. He paused for a moment to survey what was in front of him, he noticed was Olmine was fine but Yoichi had has better days. But was intrigued him the most was the strangely dressed man conversing with Oda. "Many faces I've never seen before. Who are you all?"

Oda turned to Toyohisa acknowledging his presence, "Hey, you know who he is? Seimei, man! Abe no Seimei himself!" Oda said with a huge grin, he expected the brat to at least know this famous magician of the Heian period. His expectations were immediately crushed though.

"Who?" Toyohisa said bluntly as he stared at Abe, the name rung a small bell in his head, but it was name only. If only he had payed more attention in his studies he would know of this famous monk. But unfortunately most of his childhood was spent outside fighting with his brothers and cousins.

"…no kidding?" Oda said with an exasperated sigh as he turned away from Toyohisa. He almost had the urge to smack the kid on his head, but then realised that would do nothing. He wasn't sure if his education had been lacking but as he thought about it, it could just be that Toyohisa was stupid.

"Don't have the faintest idea", Toyohisa said honestly.

Oda let out another deep sigh and after a moment realised that Takeko was not with him. "Where's bamboo girl?" He turned his neck to look around, Abe as well not expecting the fourth Drifter to be a female swivelled his head around searching for the person. But was a little perturbed at the name, 'bamboo girl'?

"I'm here, I'm here", Takeko said as she pushed aside a cluster of leaves from her way which were obscuring her vision, "And didn't I tell you to get rid of that nickname some time ago?" She said as she turned her gaze to the older man.

"Ha! Never!"

She wisely decided to ignore him, and pointed to the stranger. "Who's that guy", Takeko asked as her eyes drifted to the monk. She combed her fingers through her tresses getting rid of any stray leaves and branches.

"Hopefully you know better than Otoyo, he's Abe no Seimei", Oda said. Takeko raised a brow as she gazed upon his strange clothing and his abnormal youth. If she remembered correctly, wasn't Abe meant to be an elderly person in his eighties?

"And Toyohisa doesn't know who he is", Takeko said slowly at Oda raising a quizzical brow, there were just times where she didn't know how to refer the red man as. An idiot or a genius, it was hard to tell. Oda let out a sigh defeat and shook his head.

"I was an 'Onmyoji' in Kyoto", Abe said to Toyohisa. Perhaps if he explained himself a little better it would give this samurai a better understanding of who he was.

"Oh, a metropolitan resident of Kyoto, eh? And does everyone in Kyoto wear such weird outfits?" Toyohisa said blatantly, as he peered at the man's clothing.

"Uh, not actually, I got these in this world…" Abe said slowly as he was continually questioned by the red clad samurai.

"'Onmyoji' means 'Onmyo temple', right? So, why don't you shave your head as any other monk?" Toyohisa deadpanned, his face dead straight.

Abe was quiet for a moment before turning away with his head drooped as he pondered over his life decisions, his mood drastically dampened. Oda and Olmine immediately realised his dampened moods and did their best to brighten his mood.

"Sorry, Haruakira, sorry Haruakira! He's NOT on the bright side, y' know!" Oda said quickly with his brows furrowed. He understood Abe's pain all too well. Abe was still rather silent as he moped in his own misery.

"Great master, please don't depressed! You can expect things way worse from them, so be prepared!" Olmine said with an agitated face as she tried her best to console the injured man. Her hair flickering back and forth comically, Takeko raised a brow. She let out a small giggle as she watched he scene play out in front of her.

Abe turned his attention to the female as she continued to giggle quietly, he was informed by Olmine that there was a female Drifter, but he was not sure of what she would be like.

"Abe no Seimei is it?" Takeko said with a thoughtful grin. "Regardless of appearances, you're the one who created these charms", she held out the small pieces of paper which Olmine had given to them some time ago.

"Indeed", Abe replied although a little confused at the statement.

She was silent, a small yet sinister smile crept along her lips. "Then I suspect you are more powerful than what the books recall of you". Abe widened his eyes, she was more intuitive than he had first thought.

* * *

Chienne - bitch

Edited: 12/10/16 future me also has to say that I am still trying to work on the older chapters first to change a lot of things.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Firearms and Consequences

"So, you were also sent here like us, huh? After meeting that queer man at that queer corridor", Oda said with a wry grin as he narrowed his eyes. The deep creases in his skin deepening. Abe realising the sudden change in tone quit his previous antics, he returned to his calm composure.

"Yes. One day, all of a sudden, I was there. And that man opened a door, and I was sent here, to this world and a Drifter", Abe said. "So I understood the role that was upon me. I wasn't meant to live in Kyoto, contemplating the stars and finding pleasure with my magical creations. I was meant to live here to defeat the Offscourings, which I also call as 'Ends'".

"Oh, you're talking about that huge man and that fire woman", Oda said in realisation, he took a look around them as the few flamed areas were starting to die down. "You call them 'Ends' eh? We had some tough time with them", as well as a near death experience for Yoichi if you guys hadn't shown up he thought but he kept silent.

"Did you take care of that woman", Oda said as he turned to Takeko. She shrugged and pointed to Toyohisa.

"Yes. I threw her into the well and gave her a head-butt", Toyohisa said answering for Takeko whose eyes were laced with boredom as she realised that all the horse-riders were probably dead and sill probably writhing around in pain from their wounds if they were lucky. The fun had been taken away, and now there was nothing to do.

"Y-you didn't kill her?!" Olmine suddenly shouted in surprise, Takeko cringed slightly at the girl's yelling. She slowly edged away from the girl and placed herself next to Oda.

"T-that's not good!" Abe exclaimed in shock, "Where is this well?!" He asked. As soon as Takeko pointed in the direction is which the well was at Abe and Olmine was gone. The Drifters just looked at each other for a moment in surprise but soon followed behind them to see what all the fuss was about.

* * *

"…No sign of her", Oda said as he crouched next to the well peering down. The well wasn't very deep in the first place so she could've climbed out quite easily.

"So, she ran away? A tough woman indeed", Toyohisa said not really caring though. Besides even if she did run away the next time Takeko would finish her off herself. He was just about to walk away but Abe's voice called him back in retaliation.

"That's not the point! Why?! Why haven't you killed her?! She's one of those 'Ends'! We must kill them all!" Abe said angrily, his voice rising every second. Was this man a buffoon? Why would he do something as stupid as that?

"Killing a woman brings no honour at all. Instead, it brings only shame", Toyohisa said dully, his eyes expressing distaste. He turned his eyes at the monk, not changing one bit in expression.

"This is not the time for that! Men or women we must kill every Offscouring!" Abe said with a passion, there was a limit on how stupid a person could get. He was also on the verge of getting into a verbal argument with the red clad man.

"I don't care about what you must or what you mustn't. I never kill a woman. This is MY rule and I WILL abide by it", Toyohisa said in a hard voice, it was steady and there was a commanding presence that everyone seemed to feel. "We are not pawns of that man in the corridor. We are human beings. Therefore I will do what I think I must do".

' _I see, so this is how a 'samurai' thinks. We had none of their likes in the Heian Era. Minions who follow their own, strange code all the Path of the Warrior. That is their strength. And perhaps that's why they were called here. But all Offscourings shall be killed. We must kill them before it's too late! No matter if they are women or children! No matter how tragic their past is!'_

"Takeko, weren't you the one fighting her? What happened?" Oda said turning his attention to the black-haired girl. Did she perhaps leave it up to Toyohisa because she was lazy, no. It couldn't be because of a stupid reason like that. She much too initiative than that, or was it perhaps her natural nature to serve others. He was sure that Toyohisa had realised it too, she did everything without being asked and whatever they asked of her she never questioned. She was the perfect aide. but Oda withheld some knowledge he had gained from being a daimyo for so long. These sort of people were also not to be trusted, but he had an inkling that this was just the way she was.

"I simply let Toyo deal with", she said her eyes drifting off towards the forest. As if she saw the fleeting glint of silver armour of the Offscouring.

"Great master", Olmine said calling their attention. "That old man in that carriage. Who would be that man…?" She indicated towards a horse-drawn carriage which held three men, two of which were evidently from Westerners. The third was a decrepit man who evidently had a few loose screws in his head, he was mumbling in a strange language in which only he understood.

"His name is Hannibal Barca. He's a Drifter too. He spends most of the time in stupor now. His mental state got really worse these last few days. Maybe an advanced stage of senility", Abe said in a sombre tone.

She took notice that Abe had finished talking and their group of people were starting to wander away to their own business, she let out another tired yawn. ' _I need water and some painkillers_ ', she thought tiredly. Now seeing that the night was slowly disappearing with the dawn approaching her eyes could finally have some rest, the bright flashes of fire in the pitch lack of night really hurt her sensitive eyes. Although her lack of sleep could also contribute to the fact her eyes looked blood-shot. She took note that Toyohisa had disappeared somewhere, the decrepit Drifter was also no-where to be seen. Oda was also seemed enraptured with a strange weapon which two other Drifters had brought with them.

"Takeko, come over here! Check this out!" Oda called her over signalling her to come by his side. She let out a tired huff and heaved herself off of the crumbling stone wall and ambled comfortably to the warlord.

"What, what do you want, Nobu?" Takeko said tiredly as she leaned down, putting her hands on her knees for support. Oda was almost tempted to fondle her breast but remembered that Takeko could easily slice off his hand without any sort of remorse.

"What do you think this is?" He said holding up a small cylindrical shell which was a brassy colour, Takeko took it from his hand and inspected it for herself. It looked familiar but she couldn't put her finger on it, she sniffed it and immediately drew her nose away from the shell. She narrowed her eyes.

"A sort of 'case' for a 'cartridge'", Takeko said slowly, although she had never seen such a case before, made completely of metal. "But I have never seen one made out of metal before", she said with a rather perturbed expression, she looked up to see the two Western men with furrowed eyebrows. From what era were they taken from; she thought dimly.

"'Case'? 'Cartridge'?" Oda said curiously as he got up, Takeko also straightened herself out. He looked at her as she continued to inspect the shell, every now and then comparing it to her own rifle's bullets.

"Hey pops, you never heard of it? Oh, sorry, forgot that you are from another era", the western man with the moustache said. Butch took a quick glance at the oriental maiden, his curiosity kindled. He heard that Asian women were supposed to be the household type, so why did this Asian woman, 'Takeko' have a rifle and spear-thingy attached to her back as well as having the knowledge of guns?

"You pack the bullet, gunpowder and the primer into the case. That makes the 'cartridge' that goes into the firearm and when the hammer strikes the butt of the cartridge, the primer goes 'boom!' And there you have your shot", Butch took out his own hand-gun and fired two shots into the air. The resounding bang echoed through the sun kissed landscape, Takeko widened her eyes, the two shots he did were done so quickly. There was no wait time for the flint to light.

Takeko herself was amazed and astounded by this gun but she was also very afraid of it, if such weapons existed in the future than wars would have even more casualties and definitely more deaths. Considering that surviving a gun shot was a slim probability already but with such a weapon, how much bloodshed would there be. She narrowed her eyes in revulsion, however Oda who was by her side had very different thoughts.

"S-so…what about that thing that killed that big guy? It's a weapon that shoots one bullet after another, right?" Oda said pointing to a huge gun with a barrel so huge that it could've been mistaken for a cannon, his hand trembling at the revelation of such firearms existing.

"It's called a 'Gatling gun'. Turn the hand crank and you can fire as much as you want. Though we have ran out of bullets, so it's pretty much useless now", Butch said with a sigh, he really did like that gun. Takeko who had not been there to see the firearm in use went over to the carriage to see what all the fuss was about. She ran her fingers along the cold metal barrels, relishing the smooth touch and metallic finish. She had seen a familiar weapon before, but not so well developed, she surmised that these men were perhaps a century ahead of time from her time. Give or take a couple decades.

"A 'Gatling gun', eh?" Takeko said slowly as she ran her fingers along the nuts and screws of the firearm, didn't seem much like a gun, but more of a small cannon. "Nobu?"

"You know, I'm feeling quite like an idiot", Oda said with a dark expression, "If you have these weapons, you won't need to do what I did. More than that, the battlefield itself will change.

"Large battalions clustered together will be killed in the blink of an eye. No need for rows of riflemen. They should be dispersed in strategic points. I-I, I want these sooo badly! I want these no matter what it takes!" Oda said with a wicked grin etched across his face. Takeko narrowed her eyes and bit her long a little, drawing out a little blood.

"Highly unlikely to have them, I'm afraid", Abe said intervening with his running thoughts, "I did examine as well. The guns, cases and the Gatling, but couldn't figure out how they are made. I showed them to many blacksmiths. The metallurgy in this world is not advanced enough to produce them. No wonder, since all these come from a future way too distant".

"To begin with, I don't even know what this 'gunpowder' is made of. Kid and Butch are experts in shooting, but they don't know how to make the things they shoot", Abe continued with furrowed brows.

"No need to worry about gunpowder. We are making it right now", Oda said bluntly with a wry grin.

"No kidding! Hahaha!" Butch said with a huge grin, at this rate they would all be ready for a full-on war. Takeko bit her lip in irritancy, Butch took note of this as he eyed the woman. He wasn't really big in Asian women but he had to admit that Takeko was a looker. Takeko caught him looking at her with some interest and almost scowled, she didn't have good memories of white men but she knew not judge based on looks.

"You are really 'queer'. I've seen many Drifters with many different weapons but your actions may change this world in its entirety", Abe said standing tall with his hands on his hips.

"So, now we need only the primer", Kid said dully.

"And what's that 'primer' stuff?" Oda asked.

"The thing that goes in the butt of the cartridge. Hit it, blow it", Butch said using a shell as a reference.

"I believe that the 'primer' is not gunpowder, but rather a concoction of something else. We are trying to figure it out too, but…" Abe said slowly.

"Hey, aren't you a scholar?" Oda said with a deadpanned expression. "Do something!"

"My field of specialisation is the divination and magic arts. This is more fitting to an alchemist or an herbalist", Abe said with a bead of sweat rolling down his face. He hoped the same thing wouldn't happen with Toyohisa.

"Nobu", Takeko called out to the elder man. Oda turned his attention to the woman, "Are you that this is the right thing to do. We are speeding up the natural processes of this world. Outsiders we are, are we not to let the natural state of things flow as is?" Takeko said with a accusing eyes. Oda thought for a moment. Her words had weight but regardless he would continue to push forward.

"We are not here by choice, we are fighting a war with monsters. And if there is any war I will be participating or orchestrating I will not be on the losing side. I refuse. Besides this world will probably discover this in several hundred years, we are simply speeding up the processes", he said with a manis grin as he beckoned to come closer. "You, as well are part of this madness. You can no longer back away from it but do not worry I will not let my dirtiness taint you. Just be yourself", he laughed as he turned towards the sound of carriages.

Takeko narrowed her eyes, she felt like a child being berated and she didn't like it. She had an urge to smack him just like Toyohisa but she simply walked away. Indeed she was already part of this madness, but she was far from tainted. She was already knee-deep in blood as is so it was impossible for her to come of out of this clean.

The sound of a nearing horse-drawn carriage took the Drifters attention as a voice called to Abe. "Great master, I brought the 'sulphur' you are talking about", the man who was steering the carriage said. He too was wearing strange clothing with similar designs to Olmine's and Abe's.

"Shem! What happened?!" Abe said in surprise, but expecting his apprentice to be here.

"Olmine asked HQ to bring sulphur here, but this stinks very bad...why would you want this?" He answered obediently, he covered his nose, trying to block out the stench.

"Oh, so she did get it for me. Good job Olminipples. As a reward, I'll fondle your breasts later on", Oda said with a vindictive grin. "And now…We have everything we need. Now we go for the 'dwarves'!"

* * *

Sigh, funny fact, before I wrote this fanfiction I considered many possibilities for my OC. I wanted the OC to be female and oriental so I did a few months research on who would be the best real-life person that should be in the fanfiction. The top three were Hua Mulan, Tomoe Gozen and Oichi (Oda's younger sister), but none of them made the cut. Maybe I'll make another fanfiction featuring them instead Takeko, actually no. Too much effort, I'm incredibly lazy.

There's also the fear that since this manga is still ongoing Hirano might actually add the Takeko to the story and then I'm screwed. Got no idea if the chance is big or not, but if he does add Takeko to his manga as a Drifter, you can kiss this fanfic goodbye.

Edit: 12/10/16. Hi from future me


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Power is Everything

A man controlled by the lust of power and money is no man at all but a beast with an insatiable hunger. A beast like that will be hunted down if the beast cannot fend for himself, and thus a game will start. Nobunaga, you are that very beast, but will your chains hold you down so you will not be consumed by your own hunger?

* * *

"But, why? Why make Toyohisa as your commander? Why don't you become a supreme king?" Abe said nervously, he could see no gain from this warlord taking orders from another person. This man, was far too dangerous for anyone to control and much too cunning to be killed. So why would be let a blatant fool take the higher power?

"It seems…I am no good enough to become one. I thought all men could be manipulated by interest and fear. But, I guess I was wrong. That's why I was defeated. That's why fifty years of my life turned into nothing", Oda said with a grimace. His eyes narrowing as he recalled a few of the many traitors he had in the other world. "See, when I got surrounded by traitors in my previous world, the first person I thought of their leader was my very son. But it turns out that Nobutada, my son, had been loyal to me 'till the very end. How can a wicked man like me become a king?

"But that Toyohisa guy, ignores gains and losses and knows no fear nor intimidation. A man worthy of becoming a king. But he's an idiot, so he needs an aide. **Me** ", Oda said with a dark smile, his plans were already starting to blossom. Soon there would be a wonderful war sprouting within the heart of this very nation, and it will ignite even more wars. Profit and losses through trade and the manufacturing of weaponry which was beyond of this world. Everything would fall into place and soon a magnificent revolution would take place. His mind was already planning far ahead.

"What do you plan to do with the other two then, Takeko and Yoichi? What are your 'grand' plans for them, for they too are involved just as much as you are", Abe said with a small scowl.

"Takeko is free to do what she wishes, she works better this way. Having a caged bird is no benefit to the master or to the bird, for the master it will be entertaining for a while but it will get boring. So Takeko will do as she pleases, she is a good girl anyways, she won't so anything stupid. A free bird will fly higher than a caged one", Oda said while chuckling. Abe brows furrowed, this man has gone to the side of insanity and come back, a man worthy of his title, the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven.

"Yoichi will train the elves and continue to gain their trust. He is already considered a superior to them, he will soon have full control of their actions. But of course he still very much young so he will need guidance from me, but I won't change his main decisions. In overall he will do as he pleases but he will have to take orders from me because he is so young", Oda continued, scratching his stubble.

"You…I don't know what to call you. A vagabond or a sage", Abe said with frown, this man was unpredictable. Hopefully the other three Drifters would bring him back from the temptations of war.

* * *

' _Who knows what he is going to do, that man was really something else_ ', she thought dully. She had wandered off, leaving Oda to his antics and his work. She didn't find herself needed anymore so a lonesome stroll by herself in the woods seemed like such a great idea. Especially when she had to step over the rotting bodies strewed across the forest floors. She assumed they would be gathered up later and added into the pit later so she did not disturb the bodies. She didn't venture far into the woods after seeing the dead horses and the smell of rotting flesh emanating throughout the air. Deciding to merely trail along the outskirts of the campus and the ruins.

She caught sight of Toyohisa in the clearing, he was talking to the decrepit European man from the carriage, why though? She decided to just watch quietly from the trees, sitting down on a gnarled root.

"Old man. Are you really senile?" Toyohisa said darkly, the wind blowing behind him lightly, ruffling the tree leaves. The atmosphere suddenly thickened and oppressive. Many would have realised the warning signals and turned tails when facing such a man, but the old man wasn't even fazed but continued spout out nonsense in which he only understood.

"Carthage will be destroyed! Carthage will be destroyed if we don't do something!" Hannibal suddenly yelled out, "Hey! Magon! Magon!" Pointing his finger at Toyohisa, "I have come up with a great idea! What do you think of crossing the Alps and attacking Rome?"

"I have no such name", Toyohisa said blandly with bored eyes, "My name is Shimazu Toyohisa".

"Huh? So, is it you, Hasdrubal?" Hannibal cried out waving his stick around as if it was a sword. "What are you doing here? What happened to Cartago Nova?"

Toyohisa saw something in this man which reminded him of his own grandfather, this man was in no why senile and he could be sure of that. There was no way the man in the hallway would send someone useless to fight a war. And there was this glint in Hannibal's eye which Toyohisa recognised, to others it may be just the light reflecting but to long-time warriors it was something else completely.

Toyohisa thinned his lips as he eyes turned blank, he turned away from the old man, his walk purposeful. He came to a stop when he reached the crumbling walls of their castle and turned back around facing the old man again.

' _I wonder what he is doing..._ ', Takeko thought blinking her eyes owlishly. Toyohisa began unsheathing his sword and held the sword with both hands close to the guard, allowing a short but powerful swing. His sword was held true and straight, and with a heaving step he propelled himself with a few long strides. His body angling itself lower and lower to the ground allowing less air resistance.

"CHES-TOOO!" He cried out as he neared the old man and when he was just about to swing his sword down, his war-cry was cut short. Staring right up at him was the old man holding his stick right up at Toyohisa's face, his eyes clear and bright. His posture was at ease and there was no signs of fear or panic in his expression, in fact it was the very opposite.

"What? Is Rome attacking again? But I am the only one capable of saving Carthage", Hannibal said with a wry grin, his eyes narrowing. "Is it Marcellus? Or is it Varro? Well, doesn't matter, will crush them all!" Hannibal said triumphantly, his eyes revealing the years of experience within them.

"Good! So you are senile indeed! But your eyes aren't dead yet!" Toyohisa cheered happily, letting out a huge grin on his face. He was right in the end, it seemed that he wasn't quite the idiot as some may assume. He sheathed his sword once more all of his bloodlust fading away.

"Old man, what did you do before you got senile?"

"By the way, Hamilcar, is supper ready?" Hannibal said completely ignoring Toyohisa. But that was no problem as Toyohisa completely ignored him as well.

"It seems you took part in a good war!" Toyohisa said with a cheeky smile, his mood brightening a little knowing that the old man wasn't a dead fish as all, but something else. He didn't know yet but he had a small inkling of what his real potential was.

"W-what was that cry just now?" Olmine said worriedly as she came rushing from the other side of the castle, sweat evident on her brows. "The enemy is approaching?"

Toyohisa ignored her obvious distress, "Olmine, take good care of this old man. This man, has the same eyes of my uncle Ishinsai!" Olmine blinked her eyes in confusion as she glanced at Hannibal as he returned to his usual mad stupor.

"Al-alright…" Olmine said slowly not understanding why though, "Hey wait up, there are some things my great Master would like to clarify with you!" Olmine called out Toyohisa as he started walking away from the area, Olmine jogged to catch up with the red clad man. She took once last glance at the old man noticing two red eyes staring right back at her in the darkness of the forest, she yelped in surprise and after blinking her eyes the two red eyes were gone.

' _My imagination?_ ', Olmine thought confusedly.

Making sure the two of them were gone Takeko stepped out of the forest cautiously. Besides the occasional bird cry in the distance and the crunching of leaves underneath her feet, it was eerily quiet. Takeko let out a tired sigh as she slouched her back against the cold crumbling stone on which Hannibal was seated on. Hannibal had seemingly ignored her for the first few minutes but turned to regard the girl and from whatever piece of sanity he had he talked in his strange language.

" _Est tigris in adbitis_ …" Hannibal mumbled as he peered down at Takeko, she lifted a brow and let out disgruntled grumble. So it was Latin he was talking in, no wonder it sounded so familiar, she pondered for a moment on she would respond to him. She didn't study the dead language so extensively.

" _Ego te tigris_?" Takeko said finally with a small smile, "But that is strange to call me that, after all we are surrounded by monsters far beyond my understanding", she said quietly. Hannibal's eyes darkened for a moment his creases increasing a little. But after that the old man returned to his delirious stupor with the occasional mumbling of nonsense in a language even unknown to Takeko and their conversation was not mentioned again.

* * *

Night-time soon fell upon their camp and castle and their long eventful day had come to an end, or so the elves thought.

"The time has come. We will free the 'dwarves' now", Toyohisa said plainly as he stood by the door, the darkness shadowing his outline, making him seem intangible. As soon as he uttered the words the elves began to clamour and mumble to one another in confusion.

"Y…You got to be kidding!" One elf cried out in surprise.

"He's right! Why should we free the dwarves?!" Another exclaimed, their voices merging with another, all corresponding to the one same thing.

Why must they save the dwarves?

Shara realising that their arguing would not solve anything carefully explained their delicate situation with the dwarves to Toyohisa. "Lord Toyo, you don't know about the feud between the elves and dwarves. Since the beginning of the world, dwarves are our enemies. We will never mingle with them and they will never come close to use. When our country was destroyed by the Orte Empire, they didn't move a finger to help us elves. Why would you expect us to save them now…?"

"Because you have no choice, be annihilated by the humans or swallow your pride and save them or there will be nothing left of this country. That is their only choice", Takeko said quietly facing them as she leaning against the door frame.

The elves widened their eyes as if they were just slapped in the face, they bit their lips in frustration and looked down. That was their reality but they still wanted to refuse it.

"Ho, you're coming? Do as you wish then", Toyohisa had a mischievous smirk spreading across his face. "Those who want to come with me may stay here. But I will go. And only true warriors are allowed to come with me", Toyohisa said with a wicked grin.

Let the madness begin.

* * *

 _Est tigris in adbitis_ – The tigress is lurking

 _Ego te tigris_ – Am I the tigress

I don't know Latin, Google translate for the win. Takeko learnt literature and calligraphy as a child and several different languages from the site I'm reading from. I don't know if she could actually speak Latin but some Japanese people did study the European way in the 1800's, heck it was like a revolutionary period for Japan.

Also I don't update regularly, I update whenever I feel like it or when I have the time, so suck it up. I decide when to update.

Edit 14/10/16 - future me has changed some things and added more detail.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Purpose

"Are you really going?" Abe said dispassionately, his gaze cold and calculating as he observed Toyohisa. "You are just like an unstoppable arrow, aren't you? What is your purpose? Do you want to change the world, just like Lord Nobunaga?"

Toyohisa stopped in his tracks, the words of the monk echoing in his ears. No he didn't want to be like Nobunaga, why would he want to be like that man. To change the world is something he hadn't even considered, perhaps his actions would change the world but it was never his intentions in the first place. He didn't know the clear answer to the monk's question but he knew what he wanted. A huge smirk split across his face, "I want my glory, I want the heads of my enemies. The sole thing that ever exists in the heads of a Satsuma warrior, is to **move forward**!" He claimed with a triumphant grin his grin growing even wider.

Abe gaped his mouth at the audacious claim, his eyes widening at the audacity of his tone and his proudness. He was utterly speechless, this warrior…what exactly was this man?

"You comin' with me?" A grin on his face baring his sharp canines.

"Hah! This guy's got some balls!" Butch said with a huge grin as well as he stood on their wooden carriage, his coat billowing behind him slightly. Abe soon let out a rather forlorn smile, perhaps this was what this world needed; a man like this would certainly change something and the people around him.

"We must go back to our HQ. We have to find Scipio. And we need to find out more about other Drifters and Ends", Abe said with a tired sigh, his work was endless.

"Oh, is that so? That must be tough, eh?" Toyohisa deadpanned, saying the words with no real compassion or feeling.

"And you, warrioress? What are you to do, little one? What is your goal?" Abe said to Takeko, she was seated on one of the crumbling stone walls and had a dispassionate gaze. This one he thought was the strangest, he could not see any benefit of a female warrior going to war that had a high chance of dying. What could be her purpose?

"I wonder…" Takeko said as she pulled her hand through her hair bringing her fringe to the back revealing her half-open copper eyes. "I...want to be a shadow. Someone who serves, someone who brings the light and glory to another. That is my accomplishment", her expression somewhat dark and eyes lidded as she regarded the monk with startling clear eyes. She knew what she wanted to do, but she wasn't sure if it was what others wanted for her to do.

"Is that what you really want to do?" Toyohisa said as he stared at her. Takeko ignored him and continued to comb through her hair with her fingers. Abe couldn't help himself when a rather warm smile appeared on his face, well it was good to know that there was one that was not completely insane. Although her ambition was albeit lacking and rather suspicious but he simply didn't know enough of her to judge her so severely.

"Please take Olmine with you", Abe said, "I have handed some magical artefacts to her. I'm sure she will be useful to you". Takeko turned her head to the approaching footsteps, she spotted Oda, Yoichi and Olmine running full speed towards them. Hannibal was being carried by Yoichi.

"Wait! Wait! _Wait_! _**Otoyo, wait**_!" Oda cried out emphasizing out his last two words, and when he finally reached Toyohisa he took a moment to catch his breath, heaving in and out heavily as if he had just swum across the Lake Biwa. When he finally managed to catch his breath he had the face of vexation as he stared right at Toyohisa as beads of sweat travelled from his forehead.

"Are you an idiot or what?" He finally exclaimed his eyebrow twitching.

"No need to bring with me those who don't want to come. They won't be of any use", Toyohisa said obviously ignoring Oda's distress, his face straight.

"Grandma, is supper ready?" Hannibal said to Yoichi who let him off his back, Yoichi's eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"Hey grandpa, you have just eaten and I'm not your grandma", Yoichi deadpanned, his voice laced with irritancy. Butch however found all of this very amusing as he sat perched in the carriage, his grin widening even further.

"Hey, pops", Butch called to Oda as he pulled out one of his pistols.

"What", Oda said as he looked up.

Oda barely caught the pistol as it was thrown at him, his eye open wide in surprise. He blinked his eye in shock as he peered down at the gun in his hands. He never seen such a gun before that looked so small and delicate before, compared to his matchlock that is.

"You like guns, right? Keep that on. We'll leave the Gatling gun too, without bullets it ain't worth shit", Butch said with a huge grin, his teeth showing. "You said you'd produce bullets, right? That'd be fucking awesome. So, spare us some if you, will you?"

"All right, samurais, we're leaving", Kid said, "Stay safe!" He tipped his hat to Takeko and muttered a soft 'mi 'lady' as he jumped onto the carriage next Butch. Takeko blinked her eyes in surprise before bowing slightly to the older man, at least she knew that these westerners were different from the ones that invaded Edo.

Toyohisa turned his head to the sound of rustling and the sounds of swords clanging against each other. And lo and behold a group of elves all armed and carrying backpacks full of supplies that could last them for days and perhaps more if used wisely.

"Send the news to each and every village! We must gather our warriors!" One of the elves said, indicating to one of his mates. He nodded in confirmation.

"Good, good", Oda said with a wicked smile with equally wicked intentions. "Olminipples, get 'that thing' ready".

"Good. Good warriors".

* * *

"We will stay here for today, eat hearty because you will need your energy for tonight", Oda said as he watched the elves begin to unpack and settle themselves down onto the soft earth. A couple began to put up the temporary tents and pull out the cooking ware and several were sent out to bring back food. Their days' worth of travel would soon come to an end for tonight they would've reached the mountains of Military Facility of Galdoka where the dwarves were kept in concentration camps.

The Drifters had nothing really to amuse themselves with, with Toyohisa opting to retire early and get up at dawn or talk to the fellow Drifters to find out about them a little better. He weighed his options, liking the idea of sleep a little better. Oda was of course plotting and thinking, standing or sitting alone with several elves with him and some strewn pieces of papers. He was instructing them what to do the following night. They learnt quickly and adapted to the different lands around them. He was pleased with the steadying results they were showing.

Yoiichi had disappeared promptly after they had set camp, but none of the Drifters questioned it. Perhaps Oda was a little worried consisdering they were in enemy territory but he had faith in Yoichi abilities that nothing would go wrong. Yoichi did return several hours later though and with detailed information of the fortress and its structure.

Takeko bemused herself with some leisurely strolls, also disappearing into the surrounding land when she returned she was dragging a large carcass of a dead animal with a triumphant grin.

"Look what I caught", she held up the carcass from the hoof with a smile, blood oozing from the gut, dripping onto her sleeves and her shoes. Oda simply stared at her for a few moments before rubbing his brows.

"I feel that your feminism is being called by your outrageous acts", Oda said with a sigh. "But at least we can eat some good meat tonight", he said indicating for some elves to bring some pots and knives over.

"Oh, good job. Clean it up quickly or the maggots will get to it", Toyohisa said pulling out a short blade with hungry eyes. He scrapped the idea of going to sleep so early, know that they had such a good meal in front of them. Although he was albeit surprised, he had never seen such an expression from a woman whilst holding up a dead animal. He brought back a deer from a hunting trip once and took it immediately as a gift to one of his aunt's. She responded with a blood curdling scream as he dropped the head at her feet, holding out the best meat for her in a bag. Although his intentions were good, his aunt fainted from the sight of the dead animal and its head proudly displayed at her feet. He was berated heavily from his father, uncle and his grandfather.

"I covered my tracks so they won't find much", she said pulling the head up. Yoichi came over with a bowl and placed it beneath the neck. She promptly slit the neck and allowed the blood to flood into the bowl. The blood could be used for some thing else, perhaps some soup or seasoning. Toyohisa worked on the stomach area, removing the guts and the organs and Oda was thinking of how they could reuse the bones and the hide, along with the fur.

Several hours later the meat was carved up and everything part had been separated. Nothing had been wasted and Takeko had put everything into a pot, occasionally stirring the stew and added some herbs and seasoning. The elves would eat as well, since there was plenty to share however Drifters got the first bite. There was a reason why they had only allowed Takeko to cook for them. They had not eaten anything that was cooked by an outsider; any person who was not Japanese. Even though they trusted the elves and they knew they would not betray them, there was the unknown factors of the Offscouring and Oda had enough of betrayals. They could trust at least Takeko that she would not poison their food, not too mention she was quite a good cook.

They ate mostly in silence, there was nothing to say and most of their attention and energy was spent preparing for the following night. Most of the preparations had been done, it was simply putting everything together and acting accordingly which would come with some difficulty.

"I think you should stop eating Toyo", Oda said as he set down his bowl. Toyohisa was on his fourth bowl and showed no sign of slowing down. Takeko and Yoiichi had already stopped eating after their second bowl and merely watched in bemusement as Toyohisa continued to eat.

He put down the bowl after finishing off the remnants, "I'm done now anyways". Takeko got up to collect the bowls and spoons, and soon disappeared behind one of the tents.

She came back, drying her hands on a rag. "I suppose we are all set?"

"Yeah, the preparations are done and we have the equipment are set. We have the element of surprise as well", Oda replied rubbing his stubble, deep in thought. "There shouldn't be any complications. We will shower them with gifts as well", he laughed darkly, referring to the powder which they had brought with them. It was small amounts but it enough to destroy the fortress forces.

"I look forward to this powder you keep the elves making. You regard it with so reverence", Yoichi said with a hint of mischievousness in his eyes, his lips curling into a smirk.

"It will be...a show for sure", Takeko said slowly, she pulled out her own rifle and inspected the barrels and lightly dusted the trigger.

* * *

The first mass production of the powder resulted in this, a whirling pool of destruction in such small bags. The elves lit the fuse and threw them into the compound unaware of the full ramifications of it power. Takeko, covered her nose with her long sleeve and slowly counted to a three in her head.

One.

Two.

Three.

A deafening eruption of fire and metal obliterated one of the watch towers, Takeko watched the compound structure come down in a hurtling mess crashing down on the unsuspecting soldiers down below. ' _What a sight to behold',_ she thought.

"W-What happened?!"

"What is going on?!"

"Was that a cave-in?!"

Their surprised cries of shock, mixed with fear was not a new thing to hear for Takeko. For in her time when people would hear or see this they would immediately know what it was and run for their lives. It was a refreshing to be on the knowing side for once, and know that only they knew how to use such destructive power.

"The soil from the restrooms. The sulphur brought by Olminipples. And charcoal. Mix these three and behold black powder", Oda said with a triumphant grin, his eyes crinkling at his wide smile and manic expression. ' _Ah, what good times revisited',_ he thought.

More explosions followed the first and debris began flying through the sky as if it were rain, unaware soldiers could only cry out in fear and horror as they saw buildings, men, weaponry blow apart in front of them in such a fiery way. The destructive power of gunpowder was not to be trifled with.

Following Oda's orders the elves relentlessly threw more bags filled with the black powder into Orte's campus, their fuse lit and ready to discharge. The only sounds were the explosions of gunpowder and the screams of soldiers, the crumbling of stone and craclking of wood. The structures of the fortress was slowly but surely crumbling and because the soldiers garrisoned were only trained for norms of attacks they were baffled on what they were to do. Fear and adrenaline running through their weins.

Takeko was standing next to Oda, she had not followed after Yoichi nor Toyohisa but opting to keep close to Oda for a while.

"It's nice to see an old man having fun. It's hard for people of your age to find something their interested in", Takeko said to Oda.

"Ha! Don't compare me to some senile old geezer! I'm still kicking and I've got my plans. I'm not planning to die anytime soon", he said with a vindictive smile. She hummed in response, a coy smile playing at her lips.

"Well I suppose it's best for me to follow after Toyo", she said finally. She patted down her dress and pulled the slipping fabric from her shoulders up.

"Yeah, do what you need to do", Oda said with a sly grin, his eyes distance as he observed his handiwork.

She pinched Hannibal's cheeks, pulling and pushing the flesh. He made strange expressions while doing so. She laughed and smiled, "Haha! You're funny old man", she laughed. Waving them a goodbye she jumped down skidded down the slope. Toyohisa had prepared the elves for battle. She felt her blood rise and her vision sharpening. She did not really enjoy battle at times but today there was another cause other than to fight for the sake of fighting, but to liberate the dwarves.

"Charge! Our enemy is afraid!" Toyohisa cried out, a huge grin spread across his face which almost seemed demonic. "Take up the battle cry! Double our élan, triple our strength!" Toyohisa's blood was boiling in anticipation, his head was high above the clouds and his body was thrumming in raw energy. For too long had he yearned this and now he was allowed to release his might upon on the soldiers. Surrounding around him was the war cries of the elves, they were hesitant at first but gathering their courage they bellowed aloud, instilling fear into the soldiers of Orte.

From the distance Oda watched the frenzy increase more and more as Toyohisa stirred up their ranks and beliefs.

' _The main effect of gunpowder is not that flames that burn the bodies, nor the fragments that tear up tissues! It is the light and the sound, the shock and fear, the utter terror! Cannons, fire arrows, arquebuses, all firearms have the same purpose! Muskets were produced first in Tanegashima, Satsuma. The land of the Shimazu. Small wonder he knows just too well how to use them_ ', Oda thought evilly.

"CHARGE!" Toyohisa bellowed, the thundering footsteps of the elves reverberated through the ground, shaking the soldiers' very bones. The elves took up another battle cry and drew out their weapons for the imminent fight, steeling their resolve they charged right through the ranks of the soldiers'. Takeko followed behind, but she in no hurry. She would rather watch the scene unfold in front of her. ' _Front row seats to the chaos_ ', she thought blandly.

High above on one of the watchtowers two soldiers' conversed to one another, "What the hell is going on?! Is it the elves? Is it the rebels?!"

"Shit!"

"Fucking demi-humans!" They took out their crossbows and knocked their arrows into the slots, but before they could even take their aim properly an arrow came hurtling through the smoke lodging itself into the wood of roof. Following the arrow was a small trail of smoke leading up to the shooter who had a rather proud smile.

"Wha…What is this?!" Confusion spread across their face marring their features.

The two soldiers' for a moment was able to get a look of what was attached to the arrow before the fuse reached it end, and ignited the black powder within the cylinder. Detonating right in front of them the cylinder exploded blowing the men apart as well as the watchtower.

Yoichi gaped his mouth in surprise, still holding onto his bow. "Wow. This is nice!" He said cheerily, a simple arrow turned into the message of death. He took out another arrow which had more gunpowder attached to it, he didn't expect that this powder would be so destructive and so easy to use. He could get using such arrows but it did seem a little crude.

"We…we had no means to know…We had no idea that he was making us produce such terrible dust on our way here…" Shara said while trembling, his voice shaking and numerous beads of sweat travelling down his covered face.

" _Mix it with great care~ Take care or else everybody will die", Oda chimed his eyes narrowing._

Their memory was nothing but of the old man Nobu warning them, but they never really heeded it. They did as they were told, but now they totally understood why.

"Don't worry. You elves are very skilful. Let's give them a shower of arrows!" Yoichi said in a reassuring tone, despite his little knowledge of the powder he knew only to fear it if an enemy was using it against them.

* * *

"The explosive fire arrows aren't bad. I thought we could use them as ordinary fire arrows, but they are some fearsome weapons in the hands of Yoichi and them elves. Anyway…I didn't expect them to burn this much… To think that we could have gotten all those goods stored by Orte to us! What a pity, what a pity!" Oda said with a regretful face but what was done, was done. No turning back now.

The black smoke rising even higher, cloaking the entire sky with an ashy grey colour, obscuring the stars and moon momentarily.

"SHOUT! SHOUT! Instil more fear on them! Don't give them time to recover their morale! TRAMPLE ON THEM!" Oda yelled across the campus, his voice reaching the ears of the elves. They immediately took action.

"Everything is exploding! Fire is all over the place!"

"Run! We are surrounded!"

"Let us flee! Or else we will be annihilated!" Their shouts soon were heard by the soldiers' of Orte who had enough of this, and were soon ready to surrender themselves.

"W…What…"

"What's going…?" Another explosion blew apart another part of the campus, sending the men hurtling back a good couple metres away.

"Hey, this is bad! Let's run away!" A soldier yelled to his mate, fear evident in his eyes. His forehead shining with a fine sheen layer of sweat.

Toyohisa seized the moment within the chaos, the chance. "Take the castle! Enter the citadel!" His heart was pounding, it was banging against his chest, it hurt. Everything was chaotic, disastrous. There was no order and he thrived on it, the sheer bliss of having no rules and guidelines, he felt elated. Takeko did not know how she should feel, she was apprehensive but at the same time she felt a bubbling sensation in her chest. She didn't know what it was, it was familiar though and she welcomed it.

Takeko felt a small shiver run up her spine, there was something beyond the gates."Something is coming!" Takeko called out.

"I know!" Toyohisa cried out, his eyes slowly contracting as he drew his entire attention to the chain drawed gates. Heavy, barred and almost impenetrable, he roared on the inside at the challenge.

The gates were lowered down violently, and from there they emerged. Men wearing bulking metal armour which covered their entirety of their body, only a tiny slit which revealed their eyes was all the skin that could be seen. Strange clothing that seemed to weigh many kilograms, and large spears which were twice as long as their height. Everything about them reeked danger and death.

Toyohisa and Takeko could smell it, the pungent smell of death and yet it enticed them. The challenge, the idea of death was facing here onward was slowly embedding into their mind. They understood that, but they couldn't help but be drawn towards it, Takeko didn't understand the bubbling feeling in her chest that well because of her inexperience. However Toyohisa had a different feeling from her yet similar, but he knew exactly what it was.

He stopped for a moment to gaze at Takeko, she had a strange belated expression that he recognised. His lips curled into a smirk, a vindictive one. "Can you feel it? Something inside of you, which calls out to you. It yearns to be freed, so let it go", he whispered. He taunted and edged her, he wanted to see her released. She always held something back. He didn't want that, he wanted to see the beautiful and monstrous beast released. After all they were all demons.

Her eyes dilated as her breathing became swallowed, "Not yet. Not just yet", she breathed out, "Very soon though".

"This is the largest armoury of Orte! And this is the land guarded by us, the Armoured Defence Corps of the Orte Imperial Party! No rebels will meddle in our business and stay alive!"

* * *

Edit: 17/10/16 Future me has changed a lot of things. But have fun reading anyways.

Leave a review or something, fave if you can or follow.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: A Voice to Be Heard

His eyes had changed, they were no longer playful but rather serious. His intentions had not changed, and the emotions which bubbled within him had not changed either, it was was merely his expression. It was like there was switch inside of him, clinking on and off inside of him in a moments. His eyes contracted around, in the sight of the soldiers which stormed out of the fortress. They were heavily armoured and they were seasoned soldiers which were not afraid of throwing their lives away. Takeko tugged on his sleeve as a warning, she knew he was not stupid enough to engage in a fight with them. But she could never be too sure.

Toyohisa was no fool, indeed he wasn't. He speculated that his sword would become brittle after a few moment of bashing against the thick metal and inevitably shatter so he could not afford that. His mind raced to think of a solution, time was pushing against him and his heart was beating loudly. "Large armours, large swords, large spear! No arrows no bows and now horses!" That was not a good sign, anyone could tell. These men were used to hand to hand combat, they could not be dealt with on normal circumstances and methods. "Retreat!" The elves dashed away at the order, they had only lingered before, because of their loyalty and awaiting their commander's orders. He signalled Olmine to come closer. She had been lingering near the rear of the elves, she didn't know how to fight, best only at being the support and defence.

"Running away?! You won't leave this place alive!" This man was easily recognised as the leader of the armoured defence corps, and Toyohisa felt some regret that he would not be able to collect his head. But regardless they needed to move forward, he would not be stopped by some tin-canned men.

The armoured men stormed forward, the ground trembled underneath the sheer weight. The clanking of metal and the grating sound of the jointed areas of the armour was rubbing against each other was ear-piercing. It wasn't like the refined sound of two swords clashing against each other, this merely sounded like someone unceremoniously banging two iron pots together and stomping their feet on the ground. She hated it immediately.

Toyohi looped his arm around Takeko's waist and pulled her back, she was not aware of the plan he had so he didn't want her to get caught up by accident. Her eyes followed the path of where his eyes directed at, she saw Olmine and her lips curled into a smile. She knew what he was doing and leapt back along with him. "I know what you're doing", she sang, her eyes dancing in mirth, her lips smiling coyly. "What a dirty move, but very Shimazu-like", she was beaming. Toyohisa merely grinned back.

Small pieces of paper flew past them, coordinated and direct in their path. The talisman soon slamming down onto the floor, making a rough enclosed shape around the armoured men. The stone walls almost immediately burst forth from the ground in a spectacular manner, trapping the men in a walls of stone. Olmine had a rather regretful expression, filled with guilt and question if she should be doing this. But the deed was done. The men were trapped and their fate sealed.

"Throw them in!" Toyohisa shouted out. The elves threw whatever explosives they had, whether it was their explosive arrows or their gunpowder packed parcels. All fuses lit. The elves immediately ducked down, shielding their heads and covering their ears. The following blast of sound was one mixed with screams of pain and the shockwave of sound. The ground trembled at the magnitude of the concentrated force. The walls soon crumbling away at the force and Takeko looked up, slowly opening her eyes. Toyohisa had shielded her from the flying debri, they were both now covered in a fine layer of grey dust. She blinked her eyes in surprise.

"The enemy lines are collapsing!" Shouting, Toyohisa jumped up, "This is our chance! Our golden chance! Let's go!" he was pleased, the results were good. The elves responded quickly and clambered quickly onto their feet, charging towards the drawed gate. Bellowing out their battle cries, there was this sort of unity which made them feel even more empowered as a race.

"The Armoured Corps were annihilated!?"

"Impossible! What was that!"

"The gate! Close the gate!"

* * *

Toyohisa jumped down, Takeko following after him. The stone walls had been used to make stairs, she didn't expert that. She looked ahead of her seeing the numerous amount of houses all lined up next to each other only broken up by a few roads and alleyways. The entire place gave off the feeling of constriction and heaviness, a feeling of suppression.

"This citadel is ours!" Toyohisa claimed proudly, they had suffered no casualties at all and he was pleased, he suspected that they wouldn't have any casualties at all. He knew for sure that there were not enough soldiers in the fortress to defend them and they wouldn't have the sufficient supplies to keep them in there for too long. It was done, the battle was over. There wouldn't be much resistance from the remaining soldiers and threw dwarves were now to be freed.

"Toyo, sir. Let us free the dwarves", Shara said. he never imagined that in his entire lifetime that he would say that, but now the circumstances were different and everyone needed to join forces of the world would be destroyed.

"Huh?" He was facing away from them. His attention on the citadel and its structure.

"They are strong warriors. That's what the elves hear since childhood", he said. "The elves do hate the dwarves. Every night our fathers tell is about them, with a voice full of fear and despise", he continued. "But that shows also an envy for the things that the elves don't have. Their strength, their toughness, the sharpness of their axes". A small bit of dust had been brushed away, their reluctant admittance that there was this sort of admiration towards the dwarves, no matter how much they hated each other. There was a change in the air, or perhaps since the every beginning when the Drifters had arrived.

"they must be here, kept as captive. It was unthinkable for the elves to fight side by side with dwarves. Until now!" He made a wild gesture, towards the buildings, his voice pleading and there was the hint of regret.

Toyohisa turned around finally to regard Shara, there was a brazen smile plastered on his face. It was fascinating how people could change so quickly when they faced a greater crisis, enemies become friends, nations bands together and long-hated rivals would forget all pretences to stand together to fight against a force greater than they are. It seemed the fear of something for terrifying would link thousands of people together unwittingly.

"That's my idea from the start. Let's free them".

 _'The dwarves are crude, violent, dirty barbaric, with a nasty beard. They like to drink a lot and eat a lot. They stink and they are dangerous. With their huge arms they can crumble boulders and strike their steel. With their huge legs, they stand strong on the ground. With their huge axes, they split their enemies in half. And then, they go drinking again, laughing and singing'._

Takeko had separated off from Toyohisa, the elves had all scattered across the compound breaking down the doors and charging in. All intent on freeing the dwarves no matter what animosity they held to one another before. The houses or perhaps a better reference would be warehouses, were overbearing and there were no windows to be seen. The few windows that were on the sides were small and bared with metal and the ones that weren't bared were too high up for anyone to see through. The stench of faeces and coal was thick and smoke constantly billowed out from the tall chimneys of the warehouses protruding from the roofs. Her walk continued along the streets, her feet every now and then stepping onto the tile shingles cracking them underneath her weight.

She stopped in front of one cottage, allowing the elves to break the door down. The door came down in a clattering coach, hinges breaking off and the wood splintering. "A woman?" A voice called out to the young woman, the voice was shaky and out of breath. It sounding hoarse as well, as if it had not been in use for a long time. Takeko drew her gaze downwards as she peered at the dwarf who spoke to her, she nodded absentmindedly. The dwarf was thin and had a stout figure, eyes sunken in and despite his broad shoulders and manly appearance his figure did not radiate any bit of strength or power. It was disappointing at most considering that she heard many magnificent tales of their battles and strength from the elves.

She looked around the room in curiosity but mostly shock; how could so many dwarves live in such a cramped space and have so little hygiene. The stench inside was unbelievable, she was tempted to cover her nose but refrained from doing so in mind to not harm their feelings. But she already knew they were far beyond caring anymore about little things like manners and courtesy.

Toyohisa some houses down the loan was also thinking along the same lines. Men, women and perhaps children but Toyohisa couldn't differentiate between the elders and the young were all cramped into such little bed bunks and tiny living conditions. There was obviously not enough food to go around them all seeing empty bowls scraped clean were scattered across the room.

Takeko took a small step forward, further into the room, her sleeves and hem of her dress rustling against the floor. "My, my. And here I was thinking that dwarves were meant to be such barbaric creatures with the strength to crush boulders. But in the end a caged animal will lose their claws", Takeko said wryly with a forlorn smile.

"Tell me, have your claws dulled. Or have you been patiently sharpening all these years?" Takeko said with a smirk, a predatory gleam in her eyes as she gazed down upon them. They looked up at her in shock, unspeakable emotions flashed before their eyes. Takeko good at reading people expressions and their body actions, but if there was one thing she excelled at, then it was the eyes.

"We…have been sharpening them long enough", the dwarf male said with pale eyes, "Much too long", he managed to say.

"I see…" Takeko said while nodding in acknowledgement.

"Lady Takeko! Toyohisa is calling for you", Shara exclaimed as he skidded to a stop when he caught sight of the black-haired woman. She turned her gaze over her shoulder to see the pointed ear Shara and several more elves gather around her, a small scout group ordered to survey the area and find any leftover soldiers who were hanging around and kill them. She looked around to see more elves kick down the doors and widen their eyes in shock as they saw the once magnificent dwarves reduced to such a state. It seemed that they were liberating the dwarves as well, all past feud between the two races had obviously put aside.

"I will assume everything is fine then?" Takeko said dully with a lilting smile. Shara responded with a short 'yes ma'am'. Takeko turned her attention back to the still shell-shocked dwarves who had not believed what had happened. She lifted her brow and had an amused expression, they still did not do anything, for they were still surprised of the events which were unfolding in front of them.

"Sir Toyo is gathering the dwarves for a meal, he says no soldiers were to march on with an empty stomach. He wants you to cook for several armies", Shara continued. Takeko nodded rolling up her sleeves. There should be plenty of food in this citadel so she would need some elves to help her cook.

Before she left she turned back to the dwarves. "Well then?" Takeko drawled as she looked at the dwarves, her foot tapping impatiently, "What are you waiting for?" She said wryly, she turned away from them before seeing their reactions but she could hear the shuffling of their feet and creaks and groans of the beds being shifted. They were moving and slowly pulling themselves together. She wasn't particularly hungry but hard working soldiers must be fed.

"Gather whatever food you get your hands on, cooking utensils and plenty of water. The dwarves must be fed", she said with a smile, marching towards the heat of the commotion.

* * *

"Takeko! Takeko! Oh thank God you're finally here, talk some reason into this buffoon!" Olmine cried out to the woman, her pigtails flailing behind her, "He's cooking the horses, anyone of them no matter what their uses are!" She ran to meet Takeko who looked up from her pot, mirth dancing on her eyes. The smell of cooking meat was thick and wafted around the vicinity. The amount of dwarves gathered around the several huge cooking pots was simply incredible and even before her eyes the food was disappearing much too fast.

"I know! I'm the one who's cooking them!" She laughed as she ladled some stew into a bowl, passing it to a dwarf. She tore some bread and placed it in the bowl as well. Her eyes languid and glazed as she watched at the hustle and bustle. Olmine gaped her mouth in shock.

"You can't be serious girl! Don't just listen to whatever that moron says! That idiot is eating right in front of the enemy! Beat some common sense into that fool, would you!?" A voice shouted out, Takeko looked around in surprise, she was sure she had old man Oda's voice but he was nowhere to be seen, "Did you hear me or not?!" The voice continued to shout, Takeko turned her gaze down to the small jade like ball that Olmine was holding.

"Is this the communicating device that you talked about?" Takeko asked to Olmine, she gave a terse nod as beads of sweat travelled from her forehead. "How nifty", Takeko said casually. She picked up the ball to inspect it for herself, "Nobu you already know that, that fool is Shimuza Toyohisa. The one who charged against a whole army by himself with only a musket rearguard. There's no point trying to persuade him of anything, I'd be better off talking to a rock", Takeko said sarcastically. She heard Oda sigh on the other side, a sigh of defeat that is.

"Tell them to make soup", Oda said abruptly.

"Now you're talking. I was thinking some vegetables would be nice. Although we're running a little low on the flour", Takeko said scratching her head. There was a slight problem with the transportation of the water as well, it was hard to find anything which wasn't covered in coal dust and metal shavings in this compound.

"Shut up you brat! Tell them to chew a lot before swallowing, at the very least", Oda said with a huge sigh, Takeko laughed even more.

"Yes, yes I understand. I'm going now", Takeko said lightly. She chucked the ball back to Olmine who only managed to catch it.

"Hey wait! Where are you going?" She fumbled over the ball as she looked up in shock.

"To make some soup, isn't it obvious?" The black-haired woman without another word walked away from the dumbstruck girl, who couldn't believe these people. Honestly it would take her years before she could even comprehend what was going on in their minds.

* * *

"You're eating?" Yoichi said in surprise, the three of them were seated inside one of the houses which had been cleared out for their use. Takeko looked up at him with bored eyes and nodded, she proceeded to tear her bread and dip it in the soup.

"Why do you find that strange?" She replied, swallowing.

"No, I was just sure you would've lost your appetite by now watching the dwarves eat", Yoichi continued, he had certainly lost most of his. She looked up and around them, they were in one of the houses and indeed it was a sight to behold. The dwarves were literally scrambling to eat anything they could get their hands on, gobbling down the soup and tearing away at the bread. They ate so quickly as well, it was astounding.

"I'm surprised myself..." She blinked slowly and set away her bowl. She had finished, although the portion she had eaten was quite small.

"We're storming the castle soon, if they want to put up a fight then you know what to do", Toyohisa said dully chewing on a chicken bone. His teeth were strong enough to snap the bones in his mouth. He knew he wouldn't have resort to violence but just in case...

Takeko hummed as she lay her head on the table, it was warmth from the bowl being on it. It was shooting and she almost feel asleep had it not been Toyohisa jerking her awake.

* * *

Edit: 18/10/16 as usual I've changed quite a bit but I think you will be more pleased with the changes.

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Peace out


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Intoxication of What?

"I'm bored", Takeko sighed, the woman was sprawled out on the floor stretching her arms and twisting her torso around every few moments. She was restless and looked every bit like a housecat without something to claw. Or at least something to bemuse herself with, but nothing caught her attention so she would continue to roll around on the floor.

"I can't help you with that, I'm trying to get one simple word into these thick-headed dwarves and it's not working!" Oda said irritably, his patience wearing thin. He watched the dwarves continuously eat and eat as if their lives depended on it. Their lives did a couple hours ago but now they were just binge eating, they had become rowdy and noisy with the constant fights breaking out every now and then among themselves. And somehow Takeko had managed to block it out from her mind. She payed no mind to them and ignored the bouts of yelling and contesting between them, it was exactly as the elves had said, barbaric, loud with short temper.

"I wasn't talking to you", Takeko puffed out softly, her brows furrowing as she rolled onto her stomach, her feet high in the air swinging back and forth and a lazy circular motion. The dwarves watched her with an amused expression as they ate their food and drank their beer, it had been so long since they had been in such good moods.

"What?! A muskrat? What's that?! Can you eat it?" The loud-mouthed dwarf shouted back at him, he knocked back his head to chug down a huge swig of beer soon burping loudly moments later. The other dwarves responded with huge bouts of laughter and yells of encouragement, Takeko finally getting enough pulled herself back onto her feet dusting her drees. She walked up to Oda and gave him a reassuring pat on the back before heading towards Yoichi. Oda merely grunted back.

"Not a muskrat! _Musket_! _A Musket_! Do you think about anything besides food?!" Oda hissed through his gritted teeth, his patience had been tested on too many times today and he felt like as if he was talking to dozens of Toyohisa's, a nightmare indeed. This had better be worth it he thought angrily, if they can't manufacture the guns he would definitely punch someone and it didn't even matter who it was he punched. "Also, you get out of control when you eat!"

"Huh? The hell is he?!" One dwarf responded, and even as he spoke he had an empty bowl in his hand, an obvious indication for more servings of food.

"Let's fight him!" The previous dwarf agreed, at the back on Oda's mind he could just how meek and polite the dwarves were before they ate too much food. It was such a shocking difference that if you put the two dwarves from past and present you wouldn't even recognise them.

Takeko peered out from the available window to see the elves whisper to one another with worried and terrified expressions, it seemed that the younger generation had never seen dwarves before ad had only heard tales of them. Their first impression of them was exactly as their fathers and grandfathers had told them, it was no wonder why they hated each other. From her corner of her eye she could see Olmine fuss about with how much food they had eaten and how much money it would cost to keep the stomachs of the dwarves full. Finally she just yelled out in frustration and proceeded to kick an empty wooden box in the process hurting her own foot.

She turned to around, the spectacle was amusing enough but it wasn't enough to bay off her boredom. She caught her eyes on Yoichi drinking, he was downing cup after cup, his face becoming more and more flushed after each cup. She got up and took the cup from his hands, sniffing the contents pulling her face away immediately.

"Slow down on the alcohol", she said setting down the cup and reaching for some water instead. "I think you're a little young to be drinking this", she said inspecting alcohol. It looked strong, mildly surprised he could handle such alcohol.

"Don't be a bore, Keko", Yoichi said with a cheerful smile his eyes narrowing. "In fact, join me. Some alcohol in your system makes everything more fun", he urged coming closer to her holding out the bottle. His breath reeked of alcohol as she edged away in reflex. Yoichi liked her better when she was a little looser, despite her best to hide that she was progressively becoming more stressed he could see it. He preferred the spontaneous, crazy woman which laughed happily and danced in a sea of blood.

"I'm not so sure, I've never had alcohol before", she said hesitantly. She said blinking her eyes in curiosity but she was still wary.

"Really? Then your missing out. Come on~" He brought over another cup and poured a small amount and held it out for her. "You don't need it in your system to become weird for you, but I'm curious to see what you would be like with it", he laughed. SHe took the cup away from his hand, sniffing at the cup before downing the whole of its contents, the arid drink slid down her throat but it was an overall clean flavour, it was smooth as well, and not too empowering as she heard from her peers.

She coughed slightly but there was a warm fuzzy feeling growing in her chest, her throat burned and her stomach felt like it was on fire. And for some reason she liked the sensations that her body was giving her. Yoichi eyes followed her movements and tallied her expressions, it seemed she enjoyed her first drink. Good, very good. A party was no fun without some drunks. SHe leaned over to grab the bottle and before Yoichi could stop her she downed the contents of the bottle as well. She coughed a little more this time but licking her lips she replied to Yoichi.

"I like this. It's strong but I like it", she laughed, her head tilting to one said, her body weight resting on one arm and she leaned onto one side. Her sense of balance was starting to disappear already. Yoichi was agape, she had just began drinking and she was already into it? In fact the alcohol didn't affect her as much as he thought it would.

"Say, what do you think of a drinking competition? The dwarves are doing already so why not us?" Yoichi said with and sly and suggestive grin as he leaned forward on his seat, coming close so only she could hear him. His playful and mischievous personality coming through. Takeko only being a little intoxicated had her mind still clear enough to understand what he meant, she looked to her left where Toyohisa was chowing down food like there was no tomorrow and Oda continuous argument with the dwarves had risen up a level in volume.

"It's loud already", she mumbled, her eyes glazing over the dwarves, the Drifters and the few elves. Her lips curled into a smirk as she came closer to Yoichi, her sleeves sweeping across the table. "I bet we can make it even louder", she whispered. Her eyes bright and clear, her face dusted with pink.

"Hahaha! Then let round one start!" He straightened himself on his chair, he poured out another cup.

* * *

"Hey, lisshenupp. D'you know dat guy Yoshitsune?" Yoichi's words had slurred and their previous competition had been completely abandoned, if talking itself was a challenge let alone thinking straight then they would've stopped ages ago, but being both stubborn they kept on drinking. "Heesh a preddy awful guy. Hey! You lishenin', old man?!" Yoichi said angrily waving his cup around like a weapon, the dwarf who was unfortunate enough to listen to him just nodded his head absentmindedly with beads of sweat rolling down his forehead.

He was drunk enough to fall off of his chair, the jostle of the movement led to his clothes being pulled down and ruffled, the collar of his vest was now pulled over his shoulder revealing his lean and pale skin underneath. "The thing ish…all a sudden, he's all like shoot down this fan or whatever but it's weird, like I won't hit it", his words didn't slur so much as before but his face was scarlet red and he could barely keep his eyes open. He hiccupped a couple more times and the cup he was holding was soon abandoned. "My head feels funny…I think I had enough. You win Keko", he hiccupped a couple more times.

"That's some nasty sake", Oda remarked with a deadpanned expression. ' _He got me wrong about wearing it off the shoulder he thought to himself'_ , he had other thoughts as well which were nothing but sinful and erotic images of Yoichi in positions no other person would think.

"If there's sake, I'm gonna drink as much as I ate", Toyohisa stated loudly as he whipped his head around as he heard the talk of alcohol. He had stopped eating but now he needed to wash down his meal with something strong. He had lost sight of Takeko though and no-one had seen her for quite some time, or even heard from her.

"That's enough outta you!" Oda shouted loudly abruptly, countering Toyohisa's notion of chugging down more sake than he could handle. He already had enough of the dwarves, he could not stand another baboon drunk. He was already getting white hairs and it was not a good look on him.

"Eehh? Where are you Takeko?" Yoichi called out oblivious to the racket and commotion, his eyes searching for a wisp of black hair. "Did you chicken out…hic…Keko?" He pulled his clothes back in order as he looked around the room for the maiden.

"Thash shtrange, I could've shworn I let my cup, rightsh here", she fumbled out from underneath a table. Flushed and her eyes half-lidded, she threw the bottle of sake aside and tried her best to stand up only finding herself falling back down at each attempt. Her sleeves kept being pulled down from her fumbling around so normally her collar would be covered by cloth but it had been dragged down by the weight of the sleeves. In the process her cleavage area had been exposed, but due to her intoxication she realised nothing. Oda looked at her with a blank expression with his eyebrows twitching, just wonderful. The last sane person of the group had gone down.

While Yoichi was still intoxicated and had yet to filter out the alcohol through his system didn't see the problem, but Oda was getting more and more annoyed. From now on he would ensure that those two stupid brats wouldn't get their hands on any sort of booze. For Toyohisa it was the first time he had seen her bare skin so openhandedly but he wasn't focusing on the sexualisation of her cleavage but rather the various ragged scars scattered across her collar bone and the upper part of her arm and shoulders. But what intrigued him most was the circular scar where the skin had sunken in, an obvious scar from a bullet , the scar was just above her right breast; any lower and the bullet would've gone through her heart. His eyes narrowed at the revelation of the new information.

Oda sighed with a tired expression, his eyes blank as he began thinking about where everything had gone wrong in the old world. "Ugh…that's it. No more alcohol", she coughed and after a few failed attempts to get up she managed to stumble around the room in a drunken daze, knocking into the wall a few times before finally sitting herself down on a wooden chair. "Never again…" She slowly massaged her head with her palms her mind going haywire, her first experience with alcohol had been a horrible one.

Nothing changed at all in the room, in fact the noise and racket just seemed to go up even higher. Great big peals of laughter, inappropriate jokes and just the offense of being alive was enough to set some of the dwarves off as they brawled one another. And within the chaos Oda just stood there with an enraged expression as he tried his very best to bottle up his anger, how did he end up here with barbarians. He had the whole of Japan in his hands and because of one foolish mistake he lost it all at the whim of ex-subordinates. With his dazed look and glazed eyes he was completely enraptured in his thoughts, without even realising the commotion in the room had gone down as the food began to settle down in their stomachs.

"Well? Lemme see this so called 'musket'", the dwarf said using his hand to beckon forth the weapon, or whatever it was. He was still not even sure what the man was talking about.

Oda mentally sighed as his expression changed into hesitation and doubt, "Just…don't break it", his brows furrowed in irritancy, it was about time these bloody fools got their act together. He pulled the matchlock from his sash which was draped around his waist, he unravelled the many layers of cloth wrapped around it and gently lowered it down onto the table. The matchlock was nothing impressive from the outside but if they knew what it could do it would be a different story.

Takeko roused herself from her drunken stupor, she slowly opened one eye and glanced to her left, she had a rather placid expression but a snark grimace soon emerged from her lips. She was still against the fact that they forcibly advancing this civilation's rate of technological growth. There is a set path for every world and every life form, they must grow at a steady pace and on their own. They shouldn't even be be here in the first place, but in the end all the problems stemmed from the Offscourings. The room burst into a discussion of what it really was, with many of their observations hitting the mark. It seemed the dwarves were really skilled as they heard from the elves but their true abilities had yet to be revealed.

"The trigger mechanism's like a crossbow".

"Seems pretty simple".

"So the metal piece falls onto this plate with a spring…What is this? Some kind of shooting device?"

"Yukagi's just trees isn't it? What is this thing?"

A wicked grin split across his face, it seemed that the dwarves were worth in investing their lives to liberate, they were already catching on so quickly. If they were able to produce the matchlock then it wouldn't matter how much food they ate, how much noise they made and how much collateral damage they created as long as they make the musket come to life.

"Well? What is it? How do you use it?" A dwarf asked impatiently, his voice laced with scepticism.

"Ah yes. It is a weapon known as a 'musket'. You load the pipe with gunpowder, and it fires a lead bullet", Oda said cynically as he straightened out his posture crossing his arms behind him. His stance was relaxed and held the air of superiority.

" _A weapon_? That fires lead? I've never heard of this 'gunpowder' stuff", the dwarf answered back with confusion, never had they seen such a weapon so queer and so out of place, but then again the men who used this weapon were originally not from their world. They did not abide their rules, they did not follow their ways and they did not listen to anyone but themselves, they were singular beings that no-one could match.

"Why are you going through so much trouble for this thing? Isn't a bow or a crossbow just as good? Why do you want it so much?" The dwarf queried with dubiousness, he could not understand why the Drifters were crazy enough to free them from the Orte hold just to make this weapon. What made this weapon so different from the rest, so much amazing, so powerful?

Yoichi smirked as he found someone who agreed with his ideas, his eyes narrowing at the revelation, "I don't get it either. Bows don't make any noise and they don't waste time", he had seen the rifle that Takeko used from time to time to be slow to reload and made so much noise that it could attract the enemy and once it was out of bullets she would have to abandon the weapon entirely and just use her naginata. "What's so great about muskets?"

"Hmm…well, they do make noise and smoke, I guess I'll give you that", Oda said slowly, choosing his words wisely. Just the idea of one single pull of a trigger could end a life would probably be a little too soon for them to hear so he would have to tread carefully. Here in this world there were no set rules, so the people were dumb and dull to the advances of technology, they would have to nurture their minds carefully or there could be chaos.

"Gunfire is the battle-cry of the musket", Toyohisa proclaimed, Oda snapped his attention to the brat, so the fool has finally come back to his senses. "It makes a statement when it aims at you. Plus, you can train on it quickly. Guys who were farmers yesterday can be killing trained soldiers the next", he said with the voice of an undisputable force, his eyes showing the undeniable truth of the weapon. He had seen it in actions before, there wasn't any Drifters except for those before the time of the invention who didn't know it. It was a terrifying weapon which mankind should've never even made. But it was inevitable in his eyes.

"None of that make sense boy, any weapon takes time to train with and master", one dwarf rebutted.

"A weapon like that wouldn't even be called a weapon", another chimed in.

Suddenly the cracking sound of bullet being discharged caught everyone's attention, the dwarf who previously spoke before found that his ear ringing in pain and the wall behind him had been shattered with a small but noticeable hole in the wall where a small ball of lead was wedged. The dwarves backed away from the spot where the wall had been cracked and where the impact of the bullet made an indented crater.

They drew their eyes to the opposite direction of where the bullet had been shot from, from her chair Takeko sat there patiently until all eyes were on her, she drummed her fingers against the barrel of her rifle, her eyes laced with boredom.

The entire room was in utter silence, the dwarves breaths held and the visible beads of sweat rolled from their face with gritted teeth. What was that? What in the world was that just now!? Toyohisa and Oda had a knowing smile on their faces as they observed the dwarves expressions.

"The muskets sound incites the feeling of fear, the damage it creates invokes the feeling of despair and dread, the smell of the smoke which rises from the barrel inflame the sense of worry and queasiness. Everything about a gun invokes the feeling fear. Fear. Once heard, never forgotten, the forever ringing sound of the gun and the cries of the lost", Takeko said as she swung her rifle back and forth with blatant disregard of the dwarves unease.

"The gun will manifest the most horrible and dreadful of emotions in a human, it will bring out the worst in the best and it will corrupt those who use it. Now just imagine a whole vanguard of these weapons", Takeko said gesturing to her rifle with her left hand. Her eyes narrowed, she was deep in thought if they were in their own world she would've been happy but for some reasons he couldn't help feel uneasy.

The only thing that answered her back was silence.

' _As I thought, those two are no fools. Well perhaps Toyohisa, an idiot savant maybe. They have a long range and great power, but these are not the true strength of the guns. It's how easily they deal with killing and feelings of remorse. With just a pull of a trigger, anyone can become a warrior. It's a way for every peasant to become a soldier. This is what I left unsaid_ ' Oda's inner musings were found out by no-one as the dwarves were still enraptured by the newfound weapon. But if they had heard it, there would be a definite divide between the men and the dwarves.

The morals of right and wrong was so very delicate, there was probably no wrong and right, just the claims of foolish men.

* * *

Review, follow and fave, doing one of these will make me happy considering I am the only one who updates anymore, the other person who wrote Into The Fire stopped a year ago. So sad. So I am literally the only one who is still dedicated, where is my praise! Jokes, jokes, I do this for my amusement.

Edit: 19/10/16 future me has changed Takeko's attitude towards some things and her personality has changed. I'm not satisfied with it but it will do for now.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Memories and Steel

 _She could see it, she could it, she could feel it. Their hands pulling at her, tearing at her, the thick blood she waded in was a bliss compared to the sensations she felt along her entire body. It hurt. Everything hurt. She looked down at herself, all cut up, a bullet hole in her chest, her hands dripping in blood. Her body drenched in blood, her hair matted from flesh and sweat._

 _She was in her armour, the one she had stashed away long ago. It was heavy, oppressive. She felt chained, her wings were clipped. It was happening all over again. The hands reached upwards once more for her. She finally took a look down to see the perpetrators, all were women. It was a gut-wrenching feeling, she had these women die for their country, knowing the could;Ve avoided everything if they didn't follow her. She didn't need to feel guilty, these women followed her in their own violation. But then again she spurred something within that made them follow her._

 _Their children fatherless, motherless, the noises increased. She was dreaming, she knew this. Then why was she not awaking? Or perhaps this was her reality. The corpses gathered around her, coming closer and closer. They all reached for her._

* * *

Takeko jolted out from bed with a fine sheen of sweat covering her face and arms, her breathing was heavy and laboured as she clutched onto her chest. Her hand instinctively moved towards her weapons to see if they still with her, a heavy sigh drifted from her lips. She collapsed back into bed with a heavy heart and a clouded mind. After a few moments of lying in bed she decided that a restless slumber would be no better than being awake. She pulled on her outer cloak and sheathed a short sword just in case and finally after washing her face she tentatively stepped out into the dark corridors. With only the light of a small candle she managed to guide herself through the numerous rooms and stairways, she had been down around the building countless of time, she had memorised everything so even if she didn't have the candle she would still know where she was going. SHe soon made her way out, stepping out onto the stone pavement, once feeling the soft moonlight glow touch her skin she immediately felt calmed and her inner turmoil died down.

She rubbed the back of her neck, soothing her heated skin, letting the cool breathe brush against her glistening skin. The moon was still, ever constant as it was meant to be and a silent reminder that she was still alive and not dead yet. Her eyes darkened at the thought as she pulled her hair from the loose bundle it was in. The hair flaying lightly in the wind, it's blackness matching the night sky.

"What are you doing up so late?" A voice said next to her.

She didn't even bother to clarify who the person was, because by the time she turned around her blade was already next to his neck. The silver cutting into the flesh as small beads of blood touched the shined blade. The candle was left on the ground snapped in half and forgotten.

"Hoh, you would point your sword at me?" His familiar taunting voice, the one that irritated and soothed her mind all at the same time. This enigma that could not tell from righteous to wrong, but would create it instead. Toyohisa. His hand took her wrist and slowly pulled the blade from his neck, there was a red welting line from where the blade touched, "You're a skittish one, ain't ya?" Toyohisa said absentmindedly as he scratched at his neck, his eyes still focused on the sword. Takeko blinked her eyes in shock for a moment and soon narrowed her eyes, she took a second to notice how big his hands were compared to hers and how rough it seemed against her skin. The hands of war and bloodshed, but she also took notice of how warm they were, unlike her cold and clammy ones.

"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention", she said, pulling her arm away from him and pulled up her sleeves. She slowly sheathed the blade and picked up the candle. Toyohisa watched her with keen eyes, she had slight bags underneath her eyes and normally she wouldn't be this edged. This wasn't quite like her, however there were times where he wasn't so sure what she was really like. He made no comment thought, opting to be silent and wait for her to do the talking. Takeko bent down to collect the two pieces of the candle, inspecting the dirtied wax.

"You went to the toilet?" Toyohisa said. A coughed laugh came out from her throat, she laughed but she tried to cut it short, resulting in the strange sound. She really found this man ever so amusing. There was never a boring moment when he was around, and what a strange thing to say. But then again, he was just being himself. There was no foolery or trickery. This man was just being his plain self and it was refreshing. She was rather sick and tired of seeing the painted mask, the well-crafted smile and the eloquent speeches, the versed words. Everything about that was a bore. There was a growing smile on her face as she looked up.

His expression was still the same. The same seriousness when he was talking to the elves. "No. Not the first thing I'd expect to hear but actually practical", she said with a smile. She turned away from him, pulling on the shoulder part of her gown. "I'm going back to sleep", she said, signalling for the end of the conversation. Toyohisa tilted his head, staring at her retreating form.

That had probably been one of the most boring conversation he had with her, but far more interesting than any one he had before with a woman. His lips curled into a smile, it was no wonder she could handle being around them for so long. Olmine couldn't stay in the same room with them for one hour, she left ever so quickly if she wasn't needed. But Takeko was persistent and she did her duty as their aide ever so obediently. He wondered if her talents were wasted serving them, and if she perhaps better suited for something greater.

* * *

Oda and Yoichi stood there in amazement and wonder as they watched the dwarves work, with loud bangs of metal meeting metal and the searing sound of blistering hot iron meeting cool water, it was all rather mesmerising. There was a sort of rhythmic beat as they worked, there were no words or communication between them, the lack of a 'human' voice made it even more out of the world as they worked. Oda could only watch in amazement and speechlessness as he had nothing to say, the dwarves had kept their word and at the crack of dawn at the day before they had begun working on the musket tirelessly. There were dozens of workshops around the military camp with many more dwarves however they were not working on the musket. Only this workshop was in use for experimentations, but the workshop alone was already showing such progress that was unhuman. Oda had opted for the dwarves to work in the workshop which was beyond the walls of the military camp, near the fields of grass and the sharp edges mountains.

Being inside the walls for him was too overbearing and suffocating, but there was another reason. If there was an unprecedented enemy attack he would ensure that he, Toyohisa, Yoichi and Takeko would be able to escape first. He was not going allow any one of them die, their skills and abilities were much too valuable to waste. As he was lost in his thoughts he didn't hear what the dwarf said properly.

"He's pretty good", the dwarf said as his fiddled with one of screws on the musket.

"Huh? What?" Oda said in surprise as he refocused his attention back on the working dwarf.

"I'm talking about this iron pipe of yours", the dwarf said sarcastically holding up the matchlock.

"What did you call this, a rifle?" One dwarf said absentmindedly as he continued to strike the steel until it was soft and malleable.

"I'm saying the smithery of countrymen is _pretty good_ ", the previous dwarf said with emphasis on 'pretty good', as if he wasn't expecting anything of usefullness from the Drifters world, he was pleasantly surprised, but seeing from the night before he knew not underestimate how simple a weapon may be. And after screwing the last piece on the barrel he held out the rifle with a rather unimpressed expression, "Well, they are still _no match_ for us. There you go, the first one".

Oda's eyes widened out in shock, so soon?! "Wha…Hey! It had only been a day since yesterday! Are you saying you have already fully recreated it?!" Oda cried out in bewilderment, if it were back in Japan it would have taken at least a week for any musket to be created, even the most skilled wouldn't have been able to recreate the musket in such a short amount of time. And certainly if they had never seen it in their lives.

"If it was just a schematic it would have taken much longer, but the actual item is already here! It's a piece of cake to make a copy of it", the dwarf said casually, "Go ahead and try it out, there shouldn't be any problem", he said with an air of confidence and arrogance. The certainty in his voice was baffling and unnerving.

As soon as Oda regained his composure he went straight to business, "If we are to operate this workshop town at _full power_ , how many of these do you think make?" Oda said in a dark tone as a shadow cast down upon him, obscuring his face making him more menacing.

"This workshop town _alone_ provides for more than half of Orte's weaponry. We could do that even when we were starving and idling about", the dwarf claimed. "If we work together as one and do this seriously…let's see…" As he pondered over the thought of time and labour needed to make one musket he indicated with his fingers as he counted in his mind. "This is different from swords and armours. In order to get used to this, we will need some time", he began recounting his mind and finally after a short pause he gave Oda a rough estimate of how much they could make, "We can perhaps get seven to eight made at first. After we get used to the work, we can make to about ten".

"Just ten?! You talked with _so much_ arrogance, I thought you could make way more than just ten!" Oda said disappointedly, after hearing him say that it was a total let down.

The dwarf rebutted back with as much irritancy, "That wasn't enough? Ten per day is _the most_ we can make! Don't ask for the impossible!" What more could this moron could ask for the dwarf thought angrily, don't get too ahead of yourself!

"…Per _day!_ " Oda had taken a moment to let the words sink in before shouting out in surprise, he did not expect the number to be so high. At most he thought of perhaps two or three, but ten?! That was absolutely amazing, if he had the option of going back to Japan he would take the dwarves with him, it would've made his life so much easier. ' _Are you kidding me? These dwarves are really something!'_ He thought with a smirk as his eyes were downcast. He was deep in thought as he began speculating on how many tactics he could use to take down an enemy. There was so much untapped potential.

"Your face just suddenly made a really evil expression", the dwarf remarked in surprise, sometimes he would like to think that the man was no better than the devil himself.

"He does that at times. Just leave him be when he does that", Yoichi said deadpanning, he had become so used to seeing Oda like that. It didn't bother him anymore, and besides he was surrounded by monsters. They were all in their own rights but something made them stand out from the ordinary monsters and beasts, he didn't know what it was, maybe it was because of his youth or his inexperience.

"Where did Toyohisa go? Is he still eating?" Oda remarked as he looked around the room searching for a dash of red and a mob of black. He found nothing though.

"I wonder", Yoichi said absentmindedly with a mischievous smile.

The dwarf snapped his fingers as he recalled a memory, "If you're talking about that guy, he said he wanted to some exercise…to help with his digestion and gathered the young dwarven lads to do something".

"To be honest I can't see any difference between your older and younger people", Oda said sarcastically with a drawling tone. "Every one of you looks like and old fart. Did you get cursed or something?" Oda said with a bored tone with eyes furrowed in irritancy.

"SHUT UP!" The dwarf yelled hotly at him, he didn't deny the statement though for it was true to an extent.

"Takeko! I know you're here somewhere", Oda cried out, he knew that the brat was here. He could smell the fragrant scent of honey and chrysanthemum, when she wasn't soaked in blood from head to toe she had a refreshing scent which always reminded him of a tea. He didn't know why she smelled like that but it was always a good breather, most of the time she had the pungent smell of death and blood which clung onto her skin. "I need you to see if Otoyo is not doing anything stupid".

"Okay~", Takeko suddenly chimed right next to Oda's ear. Oda suddenly jolted away from in surprise, from above Takeko was hanging on one of the beams on the ceiling. As of the moment she was dangling upside down with her hair cascading down. Oda blinked his eyes in surprise, how the hell did she get there and how did they not realize she was there.

"When the hell did you get here?" Oda said deadpanning.

Takeko pulled herself up onto the beam with her legs swaying back and forth, she merely answered with a shrug. "Does it matter?"

"Just go and check up on Toyohisa. I have high fears that he will screw something up if we leave him by himself", Oda said tiredly. And finally a few moments Takeko finally relented and jumped down from the ceiling beam, she dusted herself and pulled her hair into a low ponytail.

"See you later then", Takeko said sarcastically. Oda gave her a half-hearted wave as she walked out the door.

* * *

Edit: 21/10/19 future me is here to say hi!

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Peace out


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Male or Female?

With one mighty swing of the axe, the blade cut its way through the helmet and table holding it up. Fragments of the metal scattered around the dwarves as Toyohisa gave out a low whistle, he was impressed. The dwarf flexed his boulder like muscles off-handily, he had a huge grin placed on his as he thumped his axe down, supporting his weight on the hilt. The other brute dwarves also did the same, with their armour donned and their helmets their past glory was relived in their magnificent stature.

"We will _join_ the battle! Dwarven warfare is to kill with one blow. Our fighting style is to bet everything on a single axe swing!" The dwarven male said triumphantly with the air of arrogance, they truly had the calibre of war-born warriors. Toyohisa responded with the same amount of enthusiasm as them.

"You destroyed that helmet beautifully! Just like Jigen", Toyohisa remarked with a smirk. Although most people would repulse from fighting as a disgusting act of human violence, but Toyohisa could think nothing less of it. There was a sort unpolished beauty in warfare and fighting, and once in a while there would be a shining jewel waiting to be refined. There was the ugly part of fighting and war, with all the blood and gore covering the brilliance of warfare, but looking past it there could be some sort of art in war. This was the purest part of war, where there was no holding back feelings and emotions, where humans cast aside their masks and let out how they truly feel. It was this that Toyohisa loved seeing, to see the posh and prim cast aside their fake exterior. War and fighting would bring out the worst and best of humans and being able to see that was either horrifying or utterly amazing.

"Jige-what? What is that?" The dwarf said confusedly as he looked up at Toyohisa. The height difference was evident but underestimating the dwarves would be a huge understatement. But Toyohisa was quite a tall person, above average for a Japanese male that is.

"The Jigen fighting style. It used to be popular with my house's younger lads", Toyohisa stated off-handily, "I used to be out fighting all the time. I did not have time to learn this Jigen style", Toyohisa claimed gesturing with his left arm. He looked around the dwarven men and thought about how his younger cousins would have thought of their fighting style, although they did not use huge axes where the blade could barely be held by the handle. But instead a long blade which was much longer than the ordinary katana and at least twice as thick. It was not meant to be used for sparring but rather meant for a huge group of enemies, with its huge blade it could cover a large amount of ground and its range was bigger than normal. Toyohisa hummed as he thought about it, he really should've made some time to learn the style, but now he couldn't.

"Our worlds are vastly different but yet we think the same. How very interesting", the dwarf said with a toothy grin, his voice gruff and aged. They may be young in the dwarven standards but to humans they were older and more experienced, or perhaps they were still ignorant to ways of the world.

"Even though we have different physical forms…soldiers are the same everywhere, huh?" Toyohisa said with a laugh, Toyohisa would feel a small pang of homesickness every now and then but as the Drifters travelled across the lands they began to realise how closely the elves and dwarves resembled them. Although there was no correlation between the two races there was a sort of unspoken understanding, and Toyohisa respected that. Some were withdrawn, some open and loud but they all were same in some sort.

"Oh good. You haven't caused any trouble yet or am just here before it starts…" A female voice called out to the dwarves and Toyohisa. Toyohisa looked up to see Takeko seated by the crumbling stones of the mountains with a bored expression. Her hair billowed behind her in the wind as she threw some rocks down the slope, watching them tumble down against the larger rocks.

"Indeed little girl", a dark figure emerged from the behind Takeko. Another dark figure emerged behind the first, Takeko quickly leapt from the rock she was sitting on and quickly placed herself behind Toyohisa. She had a disgusting feeling which trailed along her spine. Toyohisa gave Takeko and odd look as he peered down at Takeko who hid behind his arm, she would never do that so that either meant that those two people were dangerous or 'strange folk'? The latter didn't seem to fit that well, so he would just have to go with his instincts.

"I see, I see, after picking up the elves, you are now picking up the dwarves as well", the intruder remarked with a smirk. "My, what nimble hands you have there, Drifters", the 'man' continued.

The dwarves held their weapons threateningly, they didn't know whether if the two intruders were allies or enemies but it was better to be safe than sorry. "When did he…?"

"Who are you…No, wait! What are you?!"

Unbeknownst to the Toyohisa and Takeko another strange person had showed up in front of Oda and Yoichi in a similar fashion with strange clothing and queer make-up. However Olmine seemed to know exactly who they were but to know their purposes was a fool's guess.

"Are you the leader? Are you Toyohisa Shimazu?" One of the queer 'men' said, unlike the person behind him he had a much longer fringe which billowed in the wind and he didn't have glasses.

"Yes, that is me", Toyohisa said slowly still unsure whether he should be telling them who he was, "…Still can't figure out if that is a man or a woman", Toyohisa mumbled under his breath. Takeko was still hiding behind him only taking a peak over his shoulder every now and then.

"I think they are men…" Takeko said as she peered at the two unwanted guests. "…Or they could be both…" Takeko didn't care for same sex lovers, she didn't care at all because it was usually none of her business but she had never met one which was utterly strange and weird.

"Who are you people? Are you one of Orte's lackeys?!" The dwarf said angrily as he brandished his axe dangerously.

The queer 'man' gave out a half-hearted laugh, or perhaps more like a snort as his eyes narrowed. "I suppose so", his hand reached for his sword, his back hunching forward. "I guess…I'm still Orte's…" he pulled out the blade from the sheath with one smooth movement and with a one clean swing he tried to decapitate Toyohisa, "…Lackey!" As first sword was pulled out he immediately pulled out his second blade to try to cut Toyohisa's arms and legs since the first blade did not reach his neck. But with one sudden movement he pulled Takeko down with him to the ground to dodge the silver blade.

He read me! The man thought in shock and surprise, this was bad news indeed. He had the lost the element of surprise and it didn't seem Toyohisa would let him off so easily. Toyohisa's eyes had dilated and narrowed at the sight of the two weapons, Takeko who had moments before was in a shock and daze when Toyohisa had pulled her down soon focused her attention on the queer man. With one arm still shielding Takeko, Toyohisa stood up with bored eyes, he wasn't impressed at all.

"Your blade is _sharp_ , yet your killing intent is _dull_ …Tell me who you are!" Toyohisa claimed calmly, he was undeterred by the fact that his head was almost taken off. The queer man quickly jumped back a few good metres away from the red clad warrior once he realised he was in the range of his sword. He straightened himself out and repositioned his swords for another attack.

"Phew, that was close. Add another thirty years and you'd totally be my type", the man said off-handily, his cloak rising and falling with the wind. Takeko coughed a little when she heard that, what strange tastes she thought.

"Oh well, I guess it can't be helped. Sorry if you end up getting killed by me!" Despite saying that he was sweating profusely, he didn't think his chances were actually that high but it was worth a shot at. But as he saw the young woman behind Toyohisa pull out her rifle he suddenly felt his chances become nil. "I'd have gone weak in the knees for a bearded, battle-hardened, grizzled man. So you only have your own youthfulness to blame!" He prepared his sword to be swung but at the very last moment his caught his eyes on the exact description of man he had said earlier.

Hannibal who had stomped his foot on a rock with a grim expression merely gave the queer man a cruel smirk, his wrinkles showing evidently. A menacing atmosphere surrounded Hannibal as he stood there triumphantly, the queer man whose name had been Alester suddenly felt weak in his knees as he saw his ideal man.

"What happened, Alesteeer?!" Alester's companion cried out in shock, what the hell had happened!? He was just about to strike the samurai so what the hell happened?!

"Flamey~ I can't stand. I can't do this anymore", Alester said as he kneeled with his hands splayed out in front of him.

"WHUUUUUT!" The speckled man shouted out, "How dare you do this to Alester?!" He yelled out hotly to Toyohisa who just stood there with a confused expression. Was he to do something or not?

"I have done nothing", Toyohisa stated simply still unsure of what he should do. The mood had totally been destroyed, he didn't feel like fighting anymore or even pulling out his sword. It now looked like comedy show with no real basis. The dwarves just stood there confused as well, did they attack the fool or not. Takeko just blinked her eyes in surprise, she strapped her rifle back to her back again. No point on wasting the bullets she thought, and no point talking to this weirdo.

"Both you and that old man aren't my type, so I can kill you just fine! Here I come! I will not lose to the likes of you! As long as the ponytail boy with hair over his eyes doesn't come out…"

"Toyohisa-dono! Takeko-san! Big trouble!" Yoichi said as he seemingly popped out of nowhere.

"Gyaaaaaaaaaa!" The glasses man cried out in bewilderment, where the hell did he come out from. Blood spurted from his nose, and in the one short moment Toyohisa moved in the punch him hard the face. Takeko soon followed after him with a rather snide remark.

"I don't know whether you are male or female but I do know one thing", with one powerful placed kick she crippled Alester who held onto his crutch tightly. There was this cracking sound which even made Toyohisa and the dwarves cringe. One of the dwarves instinctively placed his hand over his northern regions, they almost felt bad for the guy.

"How could you do that!?" Alester cried out in despair, Takeko merely responded with a shrug. She gave him a small pat on the back before Toyohisa punched Alester in the face as well. Yoichi just laughed at the back as he watched Hannibal and Toyohisa abuse the two men repeatedly. Dwarves didn't even move in to help the two but just watched from the side with deadpanned expressions.

* * *

"As we speak, my aides are evaluating your leader. I wonder how he will fare", Germi said with a dark expression but it was soon changed to horror and dismay as he saw the very two aides he was talking about call out to him in despair.

"MY LOOOORD!"

"Help us~!" The two men looked like they had been through hell and back again with bloodied bruises all over their face and blood was splattered all over their clothes. But before they could even reach their lord Toyohisa stomped down on Alester's back like a stepping stool.

"Where do you think you're going?" Toyohisa said evilly, he felt no guilt nor shame. Hannibal behind him mimicked Toyohisa stomping his foot down real hard on the man's back. Takeko and Yoichi stood by their side with disinterested expressions. For Yoichi it had been amusing for some time but now the fun was gone, and for Takeko she had lost her interest a long time ago. While Toyohisa and Hannibal still beating up the two men she had fallen into a daydream.

"Oh, Otoyo. What happened?" Oda remarked in surprise, there was more of them? He looked down at the two poor men, they really had been beaten badly and their sense of fashion was a weird as their lord. He gave Takeko a disapproving look, which seemed to say 'what did I miss?' She indicated to the weird men's crotch and then using her finger as a reference she mimicked slicing it in half. Oda raised a brow in confusion. Was that a double reference; he thought absentmindedly.

"I don't know what the heck is going on…But I punched him _hard_ ", Toyohisa stated, putting emphasis on the word 'hard'. That was an understatement, they had repeatedly punched them 'hard'.

"Again I have no idea if this a man or a woman. Just what are you people?!" Toyohisa said as he started at the apparent 'lord'. Count Germi gave him a snort and an off-handed look, he straightened himself out and narrowed his eyes.

"Traitors. I am a traitor. And I am here to sell Orte to you. I'll even offer you a special discount price!" Germi claimed with a sneer, as he crossed his arms behind his back.

"Traitor?" Toyohisa said in doubt, he didn't know who this man was but he didn't like the look he had in eyes. It reminded him of a man who was once beheaded in front of him; the eyes were filled with ridicule and arrogance. A dangerous man who couldn't even admit that he was wrong and couldn't even tell from right to wrong; it was all much distorted.

"That's right. I'm selling them, while the still have some worth. Someone said that it's better for a country that is crumbling to just crumble", Germi said with a smug grin, "Various countries' armies are advancing on us, many lands near the castle are getting ready to surrender. It's intolerable that the distinguished people are splitting up".

"And then you come to us. You want us to do something?" Toyohisa stated, he wasn't amused, he wasn't become someone else's scapegoat for no good reason. He crossed his arms, his stance was tall and proud.

"While Orte still has some power. For efficiency's sake, this country needs to be destroyed. With one blow", Germi said with jeer, his lips twisted into a grim smile as his eyes narrowed.

This was the first step to conquering the country.

* * *

This chapter is shorter than the others, I most write in the range of 3000 to 4000 but I managed to find some time to type this chapter. There are only a few chapters thats word count is below 3000 but they are above 2500 except one. I will try to bring you guys another chapter today but I can't guarantee you anything. I will be going away tomorrow actually. The two lackeys of Count Germi names are Alester and Flemi. I read this in the authors note at the end of the chapter. I couldn't add in it because they didn't directly say his name so next chapter I will try to add it if he's in it.

For you guys who don't know the three men are based off real people. Count Germi is possibly Saint Count Germain, Alester is Aleister Crowly (maybe) and Flemi is Nicholas Flemel (maybe as well because there is no evidence from the author himself). Count Germain was a famous alchemist who supposedly made the elixir to immortality which explains a lot of things. Its the same with the other two, they are famous mystics who used 'magic' and 'sorcery' but they were well informed the mystics.

That's all for now then, I'll update later. Review and fave if you can. Makes my day.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Hi There Fag!

"I'm not getting in there", Takeko said obstinately. She looked at the already packed carriage with a grimace, they somehow had managed to pack the two hundred dwarves and two hundred elves into so few carriages but not without a price. Everyone was squashed up next to each other, it was hot inside and it smelled funny. There no was personal space at all and there was always someone touching another, it was all rather uncomfortable.

"Just get in there!" Oda shouted at her angrily, he pulled her arm and despite using all his strength he could not drag the girl any closer the carriage. He soon decided to grab her legs instead but Takeko clutched onto the nearest tree and wrapped her arms around the trunk.

"I am not moving!" Takeko cried out. She increased her hold onto the tree trunk and tried to shake Oda off of her legs.

"Toyohisa! Get your ass here and help me!" Oda yelled out to Toyohisa who had only just managed to stuff himself inside one of the carriages, he groaned out in annoyance. He squeezed himself out again and being very annoyed and irritated he merely used his brute strength to wrench her from the tree, he swung her body over his shoulder and tossed her into the carriage. He wasn't worried that she would get hurt because of the many bodies inside to cushion her fall.

Takeko quickly sprung to her feet and with one final attempt she tried to leap out of the carriage, But Toyohisa was fast to act and fastened her feet and hands with his sash. "There. No more moving", Toyohisa said with an approving nod, Takeko responded by giving him a dark glare and a low feral growl. Toyohisa simply ignored her and pushed her further to the back of the carriage where Yoichi was already suffocating with Hannibal. Now how do I get back in; Toyohisa thought for a moment.

After half an hour of pushing and shoving everyone somehow managed to fit themselves into the carriages. Flemi and Alester began closed the doors of the carriages and soon began the long and tedious ride to Orte's capital. How they got there without dying was nothing short but a miracle, with the random mumblings of the dwarves and the odd smell that kept on wafting around the carriage Takeko soon found herself losing her mind. And every now and then she felt a stray hand groping at her breast and backside. She growled a little as a warning to the unknown offender and the hand soon disappeared. However Olmine was not so lucky and was repeatedly assaulted by an unknown assailant during the trip.

Takeko had managed to wiggle out of her bounds but found that pointless as nobody could even move anyways considering how packed the carriage already was, bodies were pushed up against each other and Takeko found this most uncomfortable because she knew the dwarves were enjoying it. Several times had she hit a dwarf for touching her inappropriately not to mention that there were times where she couldn't even tell which of the dwarves or elves were touching her. Everyone was suffering in the carriage and since they could not stop at all during the ride it made even more exhausting.

Toyohisa knew with his large frame and figure he was the most annoying out of everyone in the carriage as his arms and elbow would collide into someone's face when he turned his body or moved when he moved them around. Several times had he elbowed Oda in the face and accidently smacked the back of Takeko's head when he tried to move. By the third time Takeko swore she would cut up both his arms and legs if he didn't stop moving so much.

Squished up against the wall was Yoichi, he had the smallest and thinnest frame out of them all so he was considered luckier than the rest, he also didn't have to deal with so many bodies being squeezed up next to him. But he did have some trouble trying space to breathe, all the personal space had been taken up either by the dwarves of elves. It absolutely ridiculous.

"Screw this shit…" Takeko muttered as she struggled to push Hannibal off of her back, "Get off of me!" She shouted out in frustration but Hannibal payed no mind and he soon fell into a slumber while still being on top of her. Drool began dribbling from his mouth and dripped onto her shoulder. "You must be joking…" She hissed, she proceeded to grab Hannibal by his scarf and chuck him onto Toyohisa and there he lay limply for the rest of the trip. Toyohisa swore at Takeko for while though but she beared through it for it was better than having a decrepit old man on her.

* * *

"Come up to window Kotake", Oda called out to Takeko. Takeko pushed herself past the elves and dwarves and finally after a few struggling minutes she reached the window of the carriage. She took a peak outside only to be disappointed.

"Kotake?" Toyohisa questioned.

"Pen name", Takeko said absentmindedly. "This is rather underwhelming", Takeko remarked as she looked outside her keen eyes observing everything.

"You're right on that", Oda said as he pushed the curtain a little higher up so he could get a better view.

"This is the capital of Orte?" Toyohisa said as he watched the people go about their business but there was nothing really special about it. There was nothing that made the city stand out above from the rest, it seemed more like a cesspit for the rotting.

"'Velrina' huh", Oda said in a bored manner.

"It was a rough trip", Toyohisa commented but when Takeko gave him an odd look he knew he was undermining the word 'rough'.

"Yes, but this won't be our capital", Oda stated, "It might look splendid on the outside, but it seems like it's a city where the light has vanished", he declared. Takeko absentmindedly nodded in agreement. "Look. Even though it's a market on a main street in the capital city, there are so few goods lined up. The distribution has stopped. And there're no young ones by the few street shops that do exist. Moreover, there's not many people on the street at all". Oda furrowed his brows, as a grim smirk spread across his face. It was totally different from Japan, when he was still in power he would never let his people and city come down as low as this.

"Too many men have been enlisted, so there's no-one left to work", Toyohisa said, it was true. There was not many men on the streets, and the ones that were, were either already old or cast aside by the army because of injuries.

"They take too much without return", Takeko claimed, she finally had enough of sightseeing and pulled back from the window.

"Yeah, it's not good. The country will really fall apart like this. It'll just suddenly burst up in flames", the air of wisdom ran along Oda's words. He was the greatest lord of his time, an undisputable to be reckoned with and in his times of glory he saw many things. Good and bad, and throughout seeing these things he was learning. Never was he too old to keep on learning.

"That's right, this country has completely stopped breathing. It needs help to commit suicide", Toyohisa declared with cold eyes. He was truly a man made for war, a man who strived a lived only for war and nothing else.

* * *

"Coud eat? What' coud eat? Some sort of barbarian food?" Toyohisa said not understanding what the count had said.

"It's coup d'état. It's when you make a direct hit at a capital with the intention of taking over", Germi said sarcastically. "I will guide you all the way in. I'm selling Orte to you. It sounds good, right?" He had a smug grin as he glanced up at Toyohisa, his eyes narrowing in mischievousness. "Who is your commander", he snapped his fingers.

Oda, Yoichi and Takeko pointed to Toyohisa immediately.

"The conversation went in a weird direction. But it's turned to being about me", Toyohisa dully with bored eyes. Those three kept emphasising that he was their leader but he couldn't care less, to be honest Oda was the one that was pulling the strings. He had no clue why someone as terrifying and knowledgeable like Oda would want him to the commander when he could be the one.

"You…What are your names? If you're Drifters, I might know who you are", Germi said calmly not fazed at all in the turn of the conversation. Toyohisa was the first to speak.

"Shimazu Nakatsukasa Shosuke Toyohisa", Toyohisa claimed proudly, his eyes staring right at Germi's.

Germi took a moment to think and then finally he spoke, "Toyohisa Shimazu…Hmmm…Ah", he narrowed his eyes in revelation. "Battle of Sekigahara. 1600".

"Nasu Yoichi Suketaka", Yoichi said with a surprised expression.

"The Left Hand of the Genpei War, is it? You're famous", Germi remarked as he looked at the young boy with less the pure thoughts running across his mind. He turned his attention to Oda, "You are…?"

"Oda Nobunaga!" Oda cried out shamelessly with his arms waving high up in the air.

"You're extremely famous", Germi deadpanned at Oda's strange antics.

"Hahahaha! Naturally, naturally!" Oda declared with the air arrogance and supremacy. Germi sweat-dropped in exasperation, his eyes finally turned to Takeko who attempted in hiding behind one of the dwarves.

"And you girl. Your name?"

Takeko hesitated but she said her name nonetheless, "Nakano Takeko".

"Hmmm…Oh yes. The leader of the Joshitai in the Boshin War. That's quite recent history", Germi remarked after a few moments in thought. Oda, Yoichi and Toyohisa turned their attention to Takeko in confusion, Joshitai? Boshin War? Oda was especially curious, because he and Yoichi had been the first one to find her in a bloody state but during the six months they were together she never mentioned about the battle she was whisked away from in the clutches of death. She hinted towards it in a couple of their conversations but she never delved further into it. But from the fragmented pieces of information she occasional gave him he could understand the idea of it. He kept silent though because he knew when the time came she would tell the full story, that or he would force the information from her, either way was fine by him.

Germi finally turned his attention to Hannibal who was in a drunken stupor, every now and then mumbling in his incorrigible tongue to which only Takeko and Germi could understand. However he didn't know who he was so the ideas of who he was endless.

"Who's that gramps?"

"We don't know his name. He's gramps Kiichigo", Oda said absentmindedly. Takeko raised a brow in question, she was about to speak out and tell Germi his name but decided against it. He could find out later. "It seems you're from an era after the ones we lived in", Oda continued he eyes narrowing in the revelation of the fact. "You must have floated in from a far distance, huh?" His brows furrowed in suspicion, he couldn't trust this man completely, call it instinct or the gut feeling. There something about him that made him wary.

Germi chuckled to himself, they were right about that. He may have never met Oda Nobunaga in real life but there were plenty of documents and historical facts about the warlord about his conquests and his fickle attitude so he didn't even have to meet him in real life to know him. It was the same with Yoichi, but not so much with Toyohisa and Takeko. There much mystery surrounding Takeko, even her birthdate was unclear.

Germi turned to Toyohisa with his arms crossed behind him as a manic grin split across his face. "Would you like to know what happened to the Shimazu after the battle of Sekigahara? I don't mind telling you". Germi's grin widened impossibly, as he cast his gaze upon the red clad warrior.

"Even if you don't tell me. I already know", Toyohisa began as he looked at the count. He was a fool, he knew that for sure. He didn't need Oda to tell him that but if there was one thing he knew for sure is that to have faith. Whether it be an impossible mission or an incomprehensible plan, he knew to have some faith and confidence in the people he believed in. Not only that but he was sure that everything would come to an end someday, so he didn't need some strange fag to tell him what had happened in the future.

"Eh?" Germi was confused for a moment, was is that he didn't hear the boy properly?

"My uncle Yoshihiro already left that hill, he should have gotten away while we bought him time. As long as Yoshihiro-sama was able to get back to Sasshu, it's obvious. The Shimazu clan might not have been destroyed at that time. And I don't know how many tens or hundreds of years it will take, but the Shimazu has definitely been destroyed", Toyohisa declared with an outspoken confidence which seemingly came from nowhere.

"Wha…What's with this child…?"Germi said as his face contorted to confusion and disbelief. "How can he think of something like that, in this time of flight? What nerve!" He couldn't believe the audacity in the brat's words, did he not know how presumptuous he sounded? Did he not have Oda guiding his actions and holding him back this child would've long ago died off.

However Takeko thought differently, as being from the further future she knew exactly what happened to the Shimazu. But hearing it from Toyohisa's made her laugh, it was so full of confidence, as if there could be no wrong. And the fact was that he was right, which made her laugh even more. She was soon clutching her stomach and cupping her hand over mouth to muffle her laughter. The four men looked at her in confusion as she continued to giggle.

Germi narrowed his eyes, well of course she would laugh. She knew exactly what happened in the future, and the consequences of these two fools' actions as he looked at Oda and Toyohisa.

"Well that's…This is the kind of child he is, sorry, Okama", Oda said but he pushed the subject aside as he was eager to know how his accomplishments and how it shaped the future. "By the way, what about me? What about me? How am I looked upon by the world?"

"I can't tell you anymore! Not about the enormous flying mysterious lights, or about how you basically brought hell on earth. Or that yo-you're a famous weapons maniac!" Germi cried out angrily, he wasn't going to say anything else. Their little girl could tell them but he certainly was not going to say anything for the moment, it could change the direction of their decisions and actions and he wasn't going to let that happen. He needed for theses Drifters to be completely themselves, naïve and unaware of what has happened in the future to be themselves.

"What happened in the future?!"

* * *

Olmine was the first to stumble out of the carriage with a gasping breath, "Fresh air!" She coughed out as she regained her balance, and soon the rest came clambering out in a daze. Dwarves, elves and finally lastly the Drifters. Never had they felt so relieved and free, Takeko was repeatedly beating Yoichi's back as he was choking on someone's hair which had been shoved in his face in the ride.

Takeko slouched against the cold stone walls of the one of the buildings and let out a huge sigh, breathing in the outside air. She was never going to ride in a carriage the same way ever, not with all those horrible memories. Yoichi was running his mouth in water, repeatedly rinsing and washing until he could no longer taste the rancid flavour in his mouth. Oda was cracking his bones and stretching his muscles but he soon went to business commanding the elves and dwarves to ready for battle. Toyohisa simply readied himself by pulling his hair back and straightening out his clothes, he was seemingly undeterred by the fact that they were crammed in a carriage for half the day.

Yoichi and Takeko watched with a deadpanned expression, "He's not human is he?" Yoichi asked sarcastically.

"I wouldn't know honestly…"Takeko replied with a twitching eyebrow. She looked around the courtyard, Oda was a quick man. He had already pulled out most of the weapons and readied the elves and dwarves for the raid, but he gathered a small group as he left the main group for the imminent battle, they too were geared up and prepared for battle. "I suppose we should get ready as well then", Takeko said to Yoichi. She unwrapped her naginata and pulled out her rifle and began loading it. Yoichi beside her nodded absentmindedly and drew out his bow and readjusted his string and checked the tension. Once satisfied he got up and patiently waited for Takeko to finish with her fiddling.

"You two ready", Oda called out to them. The both of them nodded simultaneously. "Toyohisa", he signalled the red clad warrior over, "Do you remember the way in?"

Toyohisa gave a brief nod and pulled out his sword, "Let's begin the madness", his eyes reflecting nothing but a blazing red of an undeterred passion for war. His body was buzzing and humming in energy, he couldn't wait, any moment now he felt as if he would burst into flames if he didn't fight any sooner. But he bided his time, soon enough he would get his glorious war. Pure and unspoiled.

* * *

No update for a month...Well to be honest I had lots of time to do this but I was just lazy. Also there are not much chapters left in the manga, so I am left with two choices. I put this fanfiction on hiatus and wait for the manga to have like 70 chapters or so, or I update only when the manga updates with an extra gap of ten chapters of something like that so I know the what to plan ahead and not have a totally oblivious outcome. Either way you guys will have to wait a long time for the next chapter to come out.

Character development is usually left with the author but I could tweak characters every now and then but I don't want them to stray from their true personalities. Many times have I read a fanfiction where the characters are just out _character_ , it's come to the point where the fanfiction writer is just controlling their emotions. A story like that becomes boring and uninteresting. It is the same with OC's, they either become to overpowered and the author twists the entire storyline around them. And no! That's not why people are reading your fanfiction! People are reading your fanfiction because they were interesting by the plot-twist of the new character, but the OC is not the main character. I try my best to keep the side character. She will not take the main roles, she will take the side roles because she is the extra character. Not the main one.

Sorry for the rambling, tell me if my OC takes too many scenes and I pull her back a little. Fave, follow and review. I'm still waiting for another fellow fanfic writer to write a fanfic about Drifters, because I feel really lonely here...


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Prelude to War

There was something lacking in this war. He knew that it wasn't normal by the standards he was used to, however he knew there were no warriors enough to fight against a skilled swordsman like himself, therefore he was growing bored. There was no challenges to truly amuse himself. He scowled almost, it marred his features for a moment. Cutting down the soldier in front of him was simply dull, his blood wasn't boiling. His only entertainment was perhaps held in the Offscouring. The glorious battle he desired was taking too long to prepare, many months had he waited for this. If there was no battle or war his life would be meaningless, it was his lifeline and the reason to breathe for another day. He cut down the trash which foolishly had run into their own deaths. The splatter of blood painted the walls a scarlet red, the colour deepening into a crimson as it slowly dried.

He could hear the Oda's rich baritone laughter tremble across the stone corridors, it was at times like these where he truly was the embodiment of the devil. His constant dark chuckles sent chills running down the elves and dwarves alike. The soldiers of Orte stood no ground against the group who were moving swiftly towards the councils meeting. With Yoichi's skilled elves shooting down any strays who dared to run away from confrontation and the dwarves cutting down the ones who even had the courage to stand up against them.

Takeko stepped over the corpses, her eyes trailing along the blood marks, leading up to her leader. His eyes reflected a sort of deranged insanity, bordering towards a murderous rampage. She pursed her lips ever so slightly as she his in his shadow. He could feel her presence behind his back, her steps were soft and it was accompanied by the sound of tinkling bells. But otherwise she was a quiet observer, and something about that was unnerving. She did stay true to her word, being simply the shadow and never allowing herself to be in a spotlight. Letting someone else take the glory from her.

He clicked his tongue, that would be foolish of her to do that. If she was that meek in the first place than she should've never donned on armour and partaken in a war only for men and the mad. On the other hand he knew her prowess so it made his somewhat conflicted. There was a sexist part of him that he knew, it wasn't in his nature that he was like that, he was simply raised that way. There was just a part of him that believed that women belonged in their home tending to their husbands and children rather than taking up arms and fighting like men. However he knew he would be insulting Takeko if he ever brought that up so he kept silent. On the other hand he had somehow made her an exception to what he generally perceived of women.

Toyohisa slowed down his march as he reached the double doors, and with hefty push he shoved the two doors open to see the council in utter chaos. Count fag had an ugly grimace contorting his features as a ghost like bespectacled man grinned slyly. He barely batted an eye when Toyohisa burst through the door with his group of warriors.

"What's up? What's up?" Oda chimed in as he looked past Toyohisa's shoulder, his mouth forming a mocking sneer. "Hey, this is totally different from what you said, isn't it?" His words directed to Germi who had promised that he would have the entire council under his control before they even reached the centre on the citadel. But of course something had gone array, it would be too strange if everything went along with the plan perfectly.

The ghostly apparition smirk widened impossibly as he regarded the Drifters, but he didn't even bother to look them in the eyes. Refusing to deem them of any worth at all he cast his gaze down right at them.

"So you are the Drifters", his glasses glinting against the available light in the room. "It seems like you were the ones who gave our Jeanne and Gilles de Rais such kind treatment. I am Rasputin". Oda narrowed his eyes, he knew these type of men, and so he knew how to deal with them. And they were the _easiest_ to deal with in the right according of the situation.

"Honestly, the Black Lord is so busy that he doesn't have the time to be bothered by you. In any case, the world will be collapsing soon", a loud shattering of glass outside and the sudden burst of light within the city walls drew the attention of Germi and the council members. Rasputin finally drew his gaze upwards as he continued to look down on them, "So, I have taken measures to ensure that".

"Fire is…Fire in the Imperial City!" The council members shouted out in shock and surprise as some peered out of the windows, some couldn't even move in fear of the consequences but that as the last of their worries as double doors burst open with black armoured soldiers brandishing their spears and swords at the Drifters.

Germi clenched his teeth so hard that blood threatened to seep through the gaps of his teeth. His hard gaze focused completely on Rasputin, one too many times that this brat foiled his plans and caused him so much trouble and grief. No again! Not this time! He refused to see failure again!

"I also took the liberty of putting some troops in this city", a sly smirk stretching across his face as he stared down at Germi. "Well, a vexing amount of trooped really, but…I really must apologize, for all this-".

A flash of red and with a terrifying leap Toyohisa leapt into the air with his sword drawn out, and with one connecting movement he decapitated two of the Black Lords soldiers. In the strange language of the monsters they cried out in surprise but before they could even cut the red clad samurai they were slaughtered by the very same sword which had dispatched their first two comrades. A red blur was the last thing they ever saw before their heads came flying off, landing on the floor in a bloody splatter. Their eyes still wide open in shock unable to register the shock of their head being taken off, detached from their body as their own blood stained the floor. They were monsters however it was still rather surprising to see the purple fluid.

Rasputin suddenly became speechless as he watched his men one by one become dead carcasses with their warm blood trickling down the stone walls. His eyes widening in revolt of the actions of the red clad samurai. Germi had similar reactions as his eyes widened in the revelation of the dead monsters bodies slumped around the room, sweat began to slide down from in his forehead.

' _Shoot'_ Oda thought with a wolfish grin adorning his wrinkled features.

Toyohisa took no notice of the sudden change in the atmosphere in the room and prayed for the departed monsters to reach heaven or hell. He didn't know but he simply did it out of habit, even if they were monsters.

"You're the Drifter…The leader of the Drifters Toyohisa Shimazu, aren't you?" Rasputin began once more determined not to lose his carefully collected composure. "Suddenly drawing out your sword, suddenly attacking…It's unmistakably clear that you're from a region of barbarians".

Toyohisa stepped up onto the council table, Rasputin's words fell deaf to Toyohisa's ears.

"I really must thank you for your treatment of our comrade, Jeanne", Rasputin continued, while his façade remained strong on the outside on the inside he was pondering why he was walking on the table.

Toyohisa strode across the table, his long legs making short of the distance. He came to a halt right in front of the one council member who was still under Rasputin's spell and without thinking twice of his actions he smashed his heel into his jaw. Again, again and again without cease.

Why should he care about this foreigner who was clearly just flapping his lips? Nothing but hot air was passing his tongue. And if he was talking about that pubescent girl well then good for her then, next time they meet her she will become a pile of salt for all he cared. Rasputin's façade suddenly dropped as his expression turned into pure horror and revulsion as his lips upturned into a grimace.

' _Ah, this is rough'_ , Oda thought as a devilish smirk spread across his face. _'I don't know who you are, but…my condolences to you. If you lose to this guy, it'll be rough. Just when Rasputin's gloating about his triumph and looking down from his high horse, he's being completely ignored and having his lackeys being beaten up right in front of him. Having that done to him completely disrupts the low of his plans'._

Oda's expression softened for a moment as his thoughts continued further, _'Toyo. Does not read the situation. It is not that he can't. He just doesn't. He completely ignores it. Rather than it being something that he was born with. It is something that he was raised to do. Depending on the situation, it could result in his untimely death. While it is a great weapon, it is also a great weakness'._ His eyes narrowed as he watched the scene play out in front of him. Even he wasn't sure if he could control such a person without repercussions.

It was totally different from Takeko and Yoichi. But now he thought about it, those two were just as dangerous. Both of them being so young their thoughts could not be predicted and they had many great strengths and weaknesses. He spent most of his time making sure that Toyohisa didn't do anything stupid but now after thinking about it, he should be equally worried for Takeko. Her mental stability was questionable.

"Toyo-chan, wait, wait." Germi quickly said intervening with the bashing. He needed the councilmen alive, not dead. "That person, he'll die, he'll die".

And throughout this entire spectacle Rasputin did not utter a single a word. For one short moment everyone seemed had forgotten his presence but Oda did not, Oda watched his every single movement taking note of every single reaction he had. And that one drop of sweat was what he was waiting for, the sign of fear. That internally was the submission for something more terrifying and powerful.

"If you give a shudder or even one drop of sweat, it's your loss", Oda cut in. Rasputin blinked his eyes in shock. When had he appeared in front of him? "Smile. It's useless if you don't smile properly. What's wrong counsellor-wannabe? I'll smile if you won't", Oda continued. He smirked in the most mischievous fashion as he looked right into Rasputin's eyes. Refusing to take away his eyes from the Drifter, Rasputin stared right back at him.

"I, too have something to say to you. _**Thanks**_ ", Oda's eyes peered right into Rasputin's searching for something. And right there it was, fear. Oh how much did he enjoy instilling fear into enemies.

"We had every intention of fighting a war since the very beginning", Toyohisa finally turned his attention to the Offscouring. "We'll destroy everyone who gets in our way. There's no way you can take a country without spilling blood".

Takeko walked to the severed heads of the monsters, leaning down she carefully picked up one of them cupping the severed neck in her palms. Letting the thick blood ooze between her fingers and drip onto her long sleeves. She brought the head up to her eyes as she peered right into the dull clouded eyes of the monster. She peered right into the glossy eyes of the head, her lips curling into a small smile. Her fingers digging into cut flesh, it was a strange sensation but generally was the same structure of the a human.

With an appalled expression, Rasputin could merely watch. "Spouting all that nonsense for what. Your words have no meaning if there's nothing to back it up", she turned her eyes away from the head and to Rasputin's. "Do you want to know something _interesting_ though?" She held the cleaved head right next to hers, side by side. "Dead men don't talk", a dark chuckle escaped her lips as she suddenly dropped the head to the floor. A small thud, a splatter of blood and the head rolled around on the floor; expressionless.

Oda's let out a short laugh as he watched Takeko step over the heads and returned to their side, blood dripping from her hands, staining her clothes a strange marble purple. The smell of the fluid was strange, not like a humans but closely resembled of an animal. "You really thought you could take this country without any bloodshed didn't you? With us here, you really must want to pout, huh? From here on out, you can make all the threats you want. We drifted to save a country, but also we came to help it. That's some good service for a just cause, isn't it? Thanks".

Rasputin's expression turned dark as his eyes narrowed in revulsion. "Hey, hey. What's with that grimace? Smile just like you were before. _Smile, won't ya?_ " His grin widened impossibly threatening to split his face in half. Baring his teeth which were gritted together. It was such an unnatural smile, so disconcerting and so abnormal. "We'll do it like this", his eyes boring right into Rasputin's who could only stare right back. Speechless; clenching his teeth his apparition slowly disappeared, wafting into a haze like smoke.

' _We'll settle things with war!'_

* * *

Extra Side Story

"This…heat…is unbearable", Yoichi panted out as he struggled to climb up into the trees for shade. Oda fanned himself but found the air he generated to be hot and sticky, groaning out in frustration he snapped the fan shut and tried to sleep the heat off. But soon found that pointless as well. The summer in this world was dry and hot, without even the faintest of breezes to keep them cool.

Takeko had her hair pulled up into a high bun but she had masses of hair so some of her hair had to rest onto her back. Her neck felt sticky and hot and she constantly had to readjust her clothes because the cloth began to bunch up in awkward places. "I don't suppose I can just strip off my clothes and walk around naked now can I?" Takeko mumbled, finding her tongue to be thick and dry.

Oda and Yoichi immediately looked at her expectantly, "Girl, if you were to do that. I can't guarantee that you walk away with…well…" Oda began but his words slowly drifted off.

Takeko gave him a sharp look, "Don't you dare finish that sentence", she hissed through her teeth. Her eyes darkening in the shadows of the trees. Oda held his hands out in defence.

Three weeks. Three weeks they had been here, enough time for them to become accustomed with each other's company and share stories with each other. Well not including Takeko, she refused to give out any information about the future. At one point they even doubted she came from the future, and she merely responded with ' _You don't have to believe me. I don't expect you to, because I don't believe who you are either'_ and with that they didn't ask anymore. But as they began to soften up with each other they began sharing more personal and intimate moments of their lives. Even Takeko began revealing parts of the future, but they were filled with riddles and puzzles. She didn't state the date nor did she say what incidents and actions led to it.

But from what they heard it seemed that the future was no longer a place of warriors but futuristic machinery. Takeko never mentioned her family, other than names she didn't delve into them often. And so they didn't ask.

Takeko leaned against the cool side of one of the crumbling stone walls, relishing in the refreshing feeling. Oda watched the day slip by with half open eyes, he wasn't very interested. Everything seemed meaningless now, there was no purpose and so he felt wasted and lethargic. But on the bright side, he never felt so relaxed and never had he let guard down so much. Back in the Land of the Rising Sun, he was surrounded by enemies. His life was in constant danger and everything he did was watched and surveyed by the people around him. Every single action and statement he said meant something and if taken the wrong way his head could be dangling from someone's hands.

He had nothing to fear from these two children, throughout their time together they never showed any intentions of harming him or any hostility and they all seemed to be in the same boat. They had all met the same foreigner in the same corridor, whisked away from the clutched of death. It seemed that that man had sent them here for some purpose. But they just didn't know it yet.

The strange ears never came up to the forests to bother them and they never bothered to go down and so nothing ever happened. They had so much free time and nothing to do with it, it bothered them so much and they just didn't know how to handle not having their lives in some sort of impending doom. Takeko had some sort of semblance of what to do, to consume her time she took apart her clothes and resewed them into a yukata. She stashed away her armour in a wooden box she found in the castle ruin, throwing aside the various pots and pieces of fabric which were inside it.

And after doing that she began to sweep the entire castle clean until there was not a single cobweb left or a speck of dust. She would also regularly wash their clothes and resew them so they were always in mint condition.

" _Why does she always do this? I'm pretty sure she comes from nobility or some sort of high ranking family. So why does she spend her time like a servant?" Yoichi asked Oda as they watched Takeko carrying buckets of water to wash their clothes and to cook their dinner that night._

" _Women have their standards for a home, I'm guessing she doesn't want to spend her time in a dingy old castle which smells like dust and mould. She needs something to keep her moving, or she grows bored and tired. So leave her be, besides my clothes haven't look this clean since coming here", Oda pointed out._

 _Yoichi let out a defeated sigh, "Whatever you say, Nobu"._

Takeko would make sure that there was variety in their meals, most of her time was spent outside in the forests. Whether it was hunting down a game of animals or foraging for edible plants. It was hard to tell which were but through trial and error she finally figured out which were and which weren't.

Oda however made use of this time by mentally mapping out the surrounding land and forestation in his mind, making sure that every little detail was not missed. He would spend his days wandering around the mountainside looking at the other parts of the crumbling castle which were beyond saving. And if not he spent his time dozing off into a dreamless slumber. His age was catching up to him and he no longer had the body to keep up with his mind, Takeko notice of this so she specially sewed together a blanket and pillow which were filled with down feathers. Oda had never seen something this before and she merely told him that she learnt this from the Europeans.

Yoichi would follow Takeko most of his time, she would elaborately tell him about the future coming up to the point of Oda's time. She would tell him amazing stories and tales of wondrous warriors and the consequences of his actions. And how he was hailed as a hero in the future and a famous historical figure. It made his pride swell in happiness but he never showed it. Often would he hunt with her and help her prepare meals, enjoying the leisurely conversations they had which only they could relate to as being similar ages.

Oda thought once that listening to those two talk was like listening to two bats chirp and squeak, their wavelengths just did not match with his so he really didn't get what they were talking about.

"Your battle…do you think you left a mark on history?" Oda suddenly said out of the blue. Takeko knew he was referring to her, even though his eyes never left the skies.

She followed his gaze and looked up into the sky with half-open eyes. "Hopefully it did", she said absentmindedly.

* * *

I hope you like this chapter! I'm going to add these side stories where I show you how Oda, Yoichi and Takeko spent their days before Toyohisa showed up and how they interacted with each other. The manga updates to slowly so if you see one of these stories take up a whole chapter, I'll have you know I probably sent several hours on it. I will also add bits and pieces that didn't make it into the final copy of the chapter because I deemed it unecessary but in the side story bit I can add what I want.

And finally I'm asking you guys, the readers of my fanfiction this very serious question. Do you want romance? I will add it in whether you like it not but it will be a terribly slow romance, maybe you won't even realize it's there. But I am going to ask you of your opinions. Leave a review of what you think, but remember I get the final word.

Fave, follow, review.

Peace out.

Edit: 25/12/16 Merry Christmas my dear readers. Lol I bet you think I'm dead. Did some edits here and there, added some more detail and fleshed out some character thoughts. Okay bye.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Yay! War!

"Hey, you shitty okama! There's no way, but…what the hell is this?!" Oda yelled at the count whose expression were more or less guilty or rather shameless.

"Th-that's right! It's an army of men who love each other!" He exclaimed rather quickly, "W-what? What I do with my army is none of your business! What you got a problem with it?!" He stuttered out in a poor attempt to defend himself, but in fact plummeting his already receding reputation to the pits of the earth. He; at this point could not fall any further.

"So the reason your army is unusually small is…because of this, huh? The reason you could not handpick them…" For Oda Nobunaga to have such a disgusted and nauseating expression was quite an achievement. Even if he did stray both ways he would never weaken his military power because of his personal preferences.

"Sorry, but where's the bathroom? I'm going to throw up", one of the dwarf's claimed, clutching onto his stomach and mouth.

"The Theban Hieros Lochos", Hannibal mumbled out, despite his dishevelled appearance and lazy expression he spoke of something that was not expected from him.

Germi widened his eyes in shock and surprise, as he turned attention to the senile old man. "You…you know this, old man? You…Who are you?"

"Epaminondas' Lochos Phalanx!" He suddenly shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the okama. "It was a rip-off! The idea was stolen from Gorgidas! Plagiarist! Plagiarist!" He shouted out, his senility making his words convoluted and distorted.

"Who the heck is this grandpa?! Wasn't he just a senile old man?!" Germi yelled at Oda at his apparent distress and his unwittingly unknowingness at the military commander.

"Hannibal Barca", Takeko said out quietly. "That is what the Octobrist called him", she looked up at Germi whose expression quickly turned into apparent shock and disbelief.

"Ha…Hannibal!" He exclaimed in disbelief as he stared at the old man.

"I'm hungry", Hannibal mumbled.

"Let's burn down Rome", Takeko replied half-heartedly, lingering behind him.

' _Uwah… I didn't know. That's terrifying…_ ' Germi thought. He had regarded one of the greatest military commanders in history as a slovenly old man with little no regard.

Toyohisa merely watched the spectacle with little no clue on what was going on, but he knew one thing. If there were soldiers then they would act accordingly to this unspoken rules of the battlefield. "Line up! Attention!" Toyohisa yelled out. And in accordance the men snapped into action, repositioning themselves in a taller stance and crossing their arms in a mock stance. As if they were holding guns. Holding their heads high as with cool eyes they regarded their temporary commander.

Toyohisa smiled mischievously, "Well, how about that. You're good soldiers after all", he scoffed out. "Matchlocks at the ready!" He shouted out. They opened up the many boxes filled to the brim with their weapons of their time. Taking one at a time and finally they returned to their positions with their little toys gifted by Oda, who stood by with a vindictive grin.

"This entire week, we did some mock simulation using wooden sticks, but…" Alester said slowly.

"I wonder what the actual things' like…" Flemi said.

It was a terrifying sight, these men holding onto these weapons not from their own evolution and time, but rather from the sped up processes of the Drifters knowledge and technology. It was rather amazing though, these 'children' holding onto something which they had no comprehension of.

Takeko pursed her lips a little in apprehension, she was still rather unsure of this. Tilting her head a little she gave Oda a small frown, he merely shrugged and turned away from her. Her doubts for not unfounded however in time such as this it would be better left not worrying about such paradoxical things.

"We rushed to make one hundred guns. Even for us, any more than that was impossible. But they should be extremely well-crafted", a dwarf said looking up at Toyohisa. "We also tried making some toys for ourselves", his hand grasping onto a veiled object, "What d'ya think?" Tearing away the fabric revealing a modified version of the matchlock, which resembled a small cannon. It was too large for a normal human to hold, heavy and impractical but the dwarves managed to pull it off.

Toyohisa widened his eyes in surprise before letting out a small laugh, "Pfft. Hahahahahahaha!" Their joined laugh made Yoichi and Takeko take a step back away from them. They laughed and laughed with such vigour and ferocity and no-one knew why they laughing.

"They're laughing. For some reason, they're laughing", Oda confided to Germi with an exaggerated expression.

"Those barbarians over there are really scary", Germi agreed.

Toyohisa cleared his throat to draw the attention of the soldiers, his little moment over as his posture changed and his eyes shifted into a sombre colour. "The gun squad will be led by Nobu. Take position in rows. The dwarf squad will be led by me and Takeko. We're the foot-soldiers. The elf squad sill be led by Yoichi. They'll be using bows as skirmishers", he grinned as very aura drew the men in; captivated they listened and heeded his words with enthusiasm, despite feeling the pressures of the atmosphere. "Draw in the enemy. We'll annihilate them all. Don't let a single one escape from here".

' _His eyes are glistening. He's a samurai general, through and through. Someone who thrives on war_ ', Oda thought to himself. A vicious smile dancing up his lips as his eyes drifted along the streets and houses. The army is likely to come though the main gates and through the market streets like they did. This will give them a huge opening as it will only a one-way path, and they had the given advantage of having the roofs.

Yoichi was already gathering the elves and dividing them into smaller groups to occupy the roofs. Several had already split off to climb the roofs. They would act as their eyes as well, their purposes were to survey the area and take every single detail in regard. Not a single thing would pass their attention. The tide of the battle will not ride in anyone else's favour but theirs.

Takeko let out a small chuckle as she thought about her position. She had originally asked to go along with Olmine but rather she had been pushed into the ranks of the foot-soldiers. It seemed that Oda would not allow her abilities lie in squalor and be wasted on some profitless task. Oda would not her standby in the shadows and hide.

"W-weren't you not going to kill everyone? They came to take Orte too, so weren't we going to withdraw if it seemed impossible?" Germi said as he gazed upon the soldiers as they readied for combat, a little vindictive of their situation.

"It's impossible to withdraw now. We are knee-deep into this war, there is no turning back for the likes of us", Takeko said with narrowed eyes as she regarded the fag with a coy smile playing on her lips.

"Massacre them. What will we do about soldiers who try to flee? We won't let them", Toyohisa said darkly, the darkness of the night masked his expression but it was an expression they would rather not witness. Germi tensed up a little when he heard the scraping sound of metal hitting the stone ground. Takeko was dragging her spear along the floor, testing its firmness and the solidarity of the floor.

"You, although you about a bunch of things, you don't know about war, huh?" Oda surmised, mildly surprised although expected.

"Wha-What did you say?!" Germi shouted out harshly.

"As for me, if it looks like the city won't fall. Then I'll just change my objective. Instead of occupying it, I'll ravage it. Kill, steal, rape. Take the castle, burn the city down. Attack everything on the way back to our own base. It'll get really messy. If it becomes impossible to make the nobility and the country our puppets, we'll do that to them instead. Well, the Black Lord will be destroying the world soon, won't he? Since I have no intent to govern the world, I'll mess it up", Oda claimed as his mind raced ahead. Thinking of the various possibilities. ' _Since it's like that, the best arrangement is to have them attack us for a bit. We'll be helping them with that, though_ '.

"Behead them all. Get ready. This is war", Toyohisa said. Finally the time has come. He waited too long. "Let's go! Take you positions!" They all promptly separated off into their own positions, soon they lost sight of each other only being connected by a small jaded ball.

Toyohisa and the dwarves ducked down behind Oda's gun squad, crouching behind some cover they patiently waited for the moment to strike. It became rather quiet as the distant sounds of marching feet and clanging metal became more and more apparent. Takeko fidgeted a little, squirming around as she slapped away an apprehending hand, followed by a small scowl. Toyohisa eyed her with suspicion. "What's wrong? Are you nervous?" Toyohisa said almost as if it was scandalous, but it was tint by amusement.

She looked up almost with a small wonky smile, "A little, yes", she reluctantly said. "After all this is the second war I've ever participated in", she said fiddling with her fingers a little. Her bells tinkling in the small movements. She looked up with a small sheepish smile, "And the first war I ever took part in…well, I was shot down in the chest", she let out a short laugh, although a grimace soon replaced her initial mocking expression.

He looked down at surprise, second war? "You're inexperienced when it comes to warfare?" He said in astonishment, he hadn't thought her to be one experienced in the art of war, especially from her display of skills and her fighting capability. Briefly remembering the scar above her left chest, ' _Ah, so that's what it was. Meant to be a killing shot, but she survived by coming to this world_ ', he thought, eyeing her chest.

"I'm more of a martial artist. Not really an onna-bugeisha, I think", she said quietly. "So I am little nervous, however there is something which thunders and pounds in my chest. This indescribable feeling which draws me further and further into the pits of Death. Something which I have only felt once", she said, her lips quivering a little. Her eyes widening as she clutched onto her chest, her expression other-worldly as if she was caught in a trance.

Toyohisa patted her on the back, a wide grin gracing his lips. "Then there is nothing to fear! You already know this. So cast away your doubts and march forward!" He laughed out gleefully as he pulled her up from her sitting position and pushed her in front of him. "Greet them with a smile!" He laughed as he saw her tighten her grip on the polearm. A small smile tugging at her lips, as she let out a small laugh.

"You…You really are…annoying", she said flatly.

"Shut up!" He yelled back at her.

But their antics suddenly were halted, as they both snapped their heads up as a strange sensation swept up against them. Takeko stiffened involuntarily, it was a strange and volatile feeling. A large and contorted smile began to grow on Toyohisa's face, as he edged forward in anticipation. "Come. Come! Come! Come!" He urged gleefully, momentarily disregarding any presence around him. He could feel it, the killing intent coming from the other side was really something. Something so thick and invasive, it was a presence he had never felt before. These soldiers weren't after their heads or the glory, they were simply there to slaughter and kill him for their Lord. That and nothing else. And it was really quite daunting.

"Come, come towards us", Takeko murmured quietly, as her eyes reflected nothing but the burning embers of the alight buildings. They were forced to sit still as they heard the main army force come through, watching Oda attentively; waiting for the right time to strike.

She could hear his breathing slowly become slow and heavy, all around her she could hear their pounding hearts and feel their heated breaths. They weren't nervous, they were eagerly waiting. Tightening their grip around the weapons, the sound of sweat being dropped ono the floor. Everything was simply immersive.

Toyohisa regarded Takeko with an approving nod, she was taking this all rather well. Considering this was the second war she had even participated in. Regarding himself though, this was only one of the many he had led, only the rules had been changed and their goals were a little different as well, but it was all relatively the same when it comes to the core.

They both looked up as they heard the first volley being fired, the dwarves murmuring in surprise and flinching involuntarily at the sound. The sound of screams and bellows of pain encompassed the entire area. The mixed yells of confusion and fear as really quite unbecoming of these monsters, whose reputation was meant to precede them. The wind carried to thick smell of blood, drifting the smell towards them, it was repugnant smell; so different compared to a humans.

A smell of gunpowder began to overpower Takeko's senses as she leaned forward, it was a smell of familiar to her. A smell which dominated the most of her childhood, there wasn't a single day which passed in her life where she didn't smell this black powder. Something she loathed and detested at the same of revering and fearing it.

Time stood still, and the moment the second volley was released, the smoke rising and the sound of footsteps stopping. They sprung forward, a single moving force, acting as if they were single energy they burst through. Breaking away the wooden boxes, jumping over the gun squad and clambering over the frightened men they pushed through.

"LET'S GO!" Toyohisa bellowed, his voice reaching to everyone. A resounding bellow echoed as the dwarves cried out in enthusiasm. Snapping to action Takeko jumped through the smoke, throwing a dagger to the general direction of the soldiers. She was the fastest out of all of them, but she strayed towards the edge, cutting down the stragglers, thinning out the numbers from the side as the main force tore through the centre.

Toyohisa dashed ahead, fasting than any of the dwarves, a gleeful smile adorning his features as he cut down the any of the foolish monsters who dared cut him down. Manoeuvring swiftly through the enemies, letting his sword guide him through the soldiers rather than controlling it. The glistening silver and cool edge of the blade and the maddening smile which persisted on Toyohisa made him all the more terrifying.

The dwarves followed behind him, their axes bashing through the armour, bone and all. The sound of shattering metal, breaking bone and tearing flesh was disconcerting but for the warriors it was the music of the battle. The unceremonious clanging of metal and squeamish cries of pain was the symphonies of the battle. The orchestra and instruments all laid out before them, and the script already being played out.

"The enemy is crumbling before us. We've got them! It's time to earn some prestige! Gt them all!" Toyohisa yelled as he readjusted his grip on his sword, hammering down a soldier's face with the butt of the handle and pushing him aside for a dwarf to cut him down.

"You got it!"

"Fifty years of resentment! It's time for us to let it go!"

Takeko danced around the side, closest to the buildings but moved silently and yielded the greatest amount of kill. Ducking down into an alley as she narrowly avoided a spear being thrusted at her. Grabbing the spear she threw the soldier off and in return stabbed the polearm right into his chest, piercing through the armour and lungs. The blood spurting onto her hem as she moved away from her position to return to the main force.

However to her surprise as she moved backwards they moved backwards as well, the troops had begun retreating without any warning, leaving behind their fallen comrades, who now lay in heaps. She widened her eyes in surprise, they left no-one behind but dead bodies. They moved too quickly and too orderly to be a retreat of loss.

Toyohisa stopped his advancements as well, standing above triumphantly the carcasses but a grimace marred his gleeful expression before. Takeko moved to his side, her own understanding of this that this was not meant to be. And this was too unnatural, they had rallied up far too quickly unlike the soldiers of Orte.

"The enemy is falling back, without a rear guard", Toyohisa claimed with a scowl. This wasn't good, this was not good at all.

"The leader…The leader must know", Takeko said as she stepped closer to Toyohisa, her weapon poised perfectly. They were in the open and the uncertainty factor had now been placed. The side of odds had been shifted, leaning towards the Offscouring.

The sound of footsteps approached them, a lone shadow from the smoke. Obscured by the darkness and rising smog. A sword drawn out and the sound of boots thudding against the stone. Takeko tensed up immediately, that silhouette was too familiar. That sword, that posture, the stance. She knew this man, everything was too familiar.

"Someone's coming over here. All by himself", Toyohisa said, mildly surprised. Takeko tensed up even more as the approaching figure became more and more apparent. She knew this person, she knew him. So why was he on the other side of their blades?

"Toyo-san! Toyo-san! Nobunaga is calling you! The enemy is…the enemy is…!" Olmine's voiced called out through the ball. Only to be ignored, Takeko only had her attention of the approaching figure and Toyohisa was too riled to even care what she said.

"You guys, return to the main force", Toyohisa said with a smile. If his assumptions were correct, this one was the commander and the strongest. After all what kind of mad-man would approach a full-forced army by himself. And from what he could tell he was a warrior like himself. He also took in factor how Takeko reacted to the new person. She was stiff and her mouth was pressed into a thin line. "This one. His head belongs to me".

Takeko swiftly hid behind Toyohisa, "I know this man. You will have fun for sure, he is a skilled samurai", she murmured. She knew that for sure, and it was undoubtable now that his skills must've grown whilst being here. And who knew what ungodly powers he had gained from being an Offscouring. Her only shock was how was he an Offscouring?

"You're staying? Your choice Keko", Toyohisa said sheathing his sword for a moment.

The man finally emerged from the darkness, stopping only tens of metres away from them. His stance hostile and his expression ugly as he regarded Toyohisa. Toyohisa leaned back a little, crossing his arms and in a huff he eyed this new Offscouring. The first impressions were good, looked strong, and his eyes were filled with hatred towards the red clad samurai. Takeko didn't utter a single word, or even rather let herself to be revealed. Toyohisa's tall stature and encompassing figure made her completely disappear if one was not focusing.

There was a brief silence as both men regarded each other, only to be broken by the dark-clothed samurai. "The Shimazu cross. There's no way I would forget that crest", he said it darkly and so hatefully that one could hear the clear malice behind his words. Lined thickly with pure detest and contempt. Takeko let out an almost inaudible sigh, it was him. That voice. It was unmistakably him, it could not be any other person than him.

"You know of the Shimazu clan?" Toyohisa said with a smile, "Who are you?" He was not oblivious to this wretched feeling that wafted off of the Offscouring. It was laden with repulsiveness and the killing intent as heavy, covering the air all around them in a veil.

"Hijikata Toshizou Yoshitoyo of the Shinsengumi", he said briefly.

"Shimazu Nakatsukashou Toyohisa", he said proudly. "You're a samurai from the Land of the Rising Sun, aren't you", he said. He knew that he most certainly was, but a little bit of confirmation was all he needed. He could feel Takeko shift ever so slightly behind him, it was beyond him why she wanted to stay. Unless she was an acquaintance of this samurai.

"The mere fact that you wear that crest, the mere fact that you are one of the Shimazu clan of Satsuma is more than enough reason to kill you!" He retightened his grip on the helm.

"You must hold real resentment towards the Shimazu clan", Toyohisa replied with a laugh, all too knowing that his clan was most reputable of their heinous acts of violence in war. Their forte was crushing other clans and overtaking them. "Kizakibary, Mimikawa, Okitanawate, Hetzugigawa, Sekigakara. Or was it the invasion of Korea?"

' _I can't believe I was allies with this clan during the war_ ', Takeko thought dully. This conquest loving clan, picking a fight with every person, clan, nation and country they saw. This she could understand his hatred towards them.

"I can think of so many reasons. Just by looking at you, I can tell you are not from my era", his expression serious as he thought of the multiple possibilities of which clan he could have originated from. There was just too many to count. "Aha, I see. What have my descendants done to you?" He grinned as his once serious expression disappeared and was replaced with one filled with jubilance, his upturned grin, spread too far, and was much to unnatural. Mocking him as his eyes widened and gazed right at Hijikata.

It turned quiet, Hijikata's expression turned blank. The fury welled up within him, concentrating into a singular form. His arm wafting up as white apparitions began to ooze from the floor, hand and around him. "Die, Shimazu. I will never let you live. Die. Do nothing but die", the smoke increased tenfold as it began to waft around Hijikata, contorting and shifting, dancing along the wind as it twisted and turn. A strange moaning emitted from the shadowy apparitions as they circled Hijikata.

Takeko took a small peek over Toyohisa's shoulder, her eyes widening in disbelief. Those figures dancing within the smoke was also familiar too. "Shinsengumi", she muttered in disbelief.

"These people too. They will never pardon you either", a face emerged forth from the apparitions, moaning and wailing at them. It was hideous and strange, too unearthly and disconcerting to be human at all. "Rebellious Satsuma, your death shall come to pass!" He yelled, a full form of human materialising with a sword from the smoke. Charging toward Toyohisa with an unearthly howl of despair and contempt. Several more emerging from the haze of smoke with the same shadowed expressions and swords drawn out. All heading towards them.

"Takeko! You're up!" Toyohisa yelled, as he took his stance, the moment stepping into their field of death he unsheathed his sword. Ducking down, Takeko jumped over him, swinging her polearm. The coverage of the weapon was wide, however as the blade contacted the apparitions it simply passed through, leaving no mark. They simply dissipated and re-joined in another location advantageous for their counter-strike. She felt as if she was cutting air.

Toyohisa manoeuvred around the ghost's as they cut swung their blades, skilfully avoiding the smoky appendages. He made no effort to strike back at them, as seeing the Takeko's weapon did nothing to them, they were truly fighting ghosts. There were many and he was bound to get cut, Takeko was at the advantage in this sort of situation. The naginata was designed to combat many enemies while keeping them at a safe distance from user. However she was losing ground as they surrounded her, a few of them briefly hesitated to cut her as she leapt from side to side, ducking to and dodging the blades.

They recognised her, she was also from their time and was not their enemy at their time either. She was also a victim of that war, like so many of them as well. Reluctant at first but soon pushing through they regarded her as an enemy as well.

Hijikata widened his eyes, she was here?! He gritted his teeth a little, she was meant to be dead. Her head was buried at their temple, her sister had all but confirmed herself. She died on that battlefield, and left nothing behind but broken promises and her unfulfilled duties. She still danced as beautifully as he remembered and she was nothing short of the same terrifying onna-bugeisha that her clan made her out to be.

Takeko was successful in fending off the apparitions and fared better than Toyohisa who had already sustained injuries. However despite that, he smiled and laughed as his pranced. This was more fun than he could've imagined, he expected to fight one warrior but not this many.

'This idiot is smiling', he thought to himself. "Shimazu Toyohisa. Just what kind of life did he live?" Takeko's expression was veiled but as she drew near towards the flames bursting from the lit buildings there was a small coy smile dancing upon her lips. Although her eyes spoke many more emotions. "You are the same…do you still remember though…?" he said slowly as he watched Takeko, however his ponderings were cut short as Toyohisa made a bold movement, crashing through one of the barred windows.

"Are you running away?" Hijikata said with distaste, however to his surprise as his attentions were drawn towards Toyohisa, he jumped back as he felt a whoosh of wind burst in front of him. Takeko's leg high up in the air as she attempted to kick him down, using her naginata to balance her form as she quickly shifted around to block off some of the incoming apparitions. Proving fruitless though she gained several cuts around her arms and torso.

He scowled a little, these two were working with one another. Just like her, always working with someone else than working solely by herself. "You're still predictable", he muttered as he heard the sound of wood breaking behind him as Toyohisa swung his sword from behind. It was a poor attempt to catch him off guard. As Hijikata raised his own sword to counter, the clanging of metal screeching through the air.

Strike after strike the two had managed to pit themselves fiercely in combat, the sound of metal grinding against one another and the sparks which flew was something Takeko had not seen in such a long time. Until not there had been no same standing of superior enemy for them combat against. This one proved to be a highly skilled adversary as he managed to counter every single of Toyohisa's strikes.

It was a little frustrating but it made him even giddier, here was a true warrior, one worth retrieving his head from. But his seriousness made him want to taunt him a little, quickly pulling a face at him he ran in another direction. The apparitions contorting as they tried to chase after the red clad samurai, only to be cut-off by Takeko. Keeping a good distance away from their blades.

Hijikata scowl deepened even further at the monkey-act as his anger was at the moment of bursting.

"Funny, isn't he?" Takeko said jokingly as she lingered around Hijikata. The smoke intensifying around her as she too made a dash for it, narrowly avoiding some several swords, one just managing to graze her shoulder.

"You're calmer than I'd thought you'd be. Considering this situation", Hijikata bit out as he eyed Takeko. There were blood spots patching all over her body as she tilted her head, blinking owlishly.

"I know", she said smiling as she took another leaping bound to evade the gathering smoke around her feet.

Toyohisa crashed through another barred window, this time the occupants were still hiding inside. Letting out a grunt as he tumbled to the floor, giving out a small greeting her grabbed some bowls and plates, still filled with food. He could here Takeko's naginata clanging against the stone and the floor, meaning that she was still fighting off the smoky forms. He shattered through another window right behind Hijikata, who turned immediately towards the sound, his sword slicing through the air.

The plates and bowls subsequently thrown in his direction as a clumsy counter, ' _Plates…Foolish! Are you so desperate?!_ ' he cut through them cleanly however the last bowl still had remnants of its meal. The soup slopping onto Hijikata's face and clothing, as Toyohisa proudly took stance, proud of his somewhat childish achievement. Takeko let a small smile, using her sleeve to muffle her chuckles. It would only anger him further if he found out that she was laughing at this strange predicament.

Hijikata's expression turn dark as his eyes glowed in the darkness, it was a unhuman in its appearance and Takeko frowned a little. Olmine once said they were no longer humans and monsters now, but was he really simply just that. He still had his human reasons to hate the Shimazu. And the girl from before had many human qualities as well, even stating her country and her religion. These Offscouring were not monsters she thought grimly, they were humans with monster like abilities, because a human was defined by their motives, actions and what they pursue in their waking moments.

And even if they were monsters, monster are and will always be in the end guided by some sort of motive.

"You don't follow the way of the warrior, do you?!" Hijikata growled out, his anger was now at the breaking point. Just one more push and he would spare no-one, even she would not be spared. Even if they were friends back in their world. And by the looks of it, she knew as well as a small yet forlorn smile persisted on her face.

"Huh? This is war, you know. It's justified even if we start tearing at each other's throats. If you're looking for a duel in kenjustu or in the art of war, I'll give you one. If you don't like it this way, then don't ever leave the dojo", he exclaimed smiling. A little surprised that this man before him could even say that, considering he was the one with the supernatural powers, he wasn't even fighting his own fight. On the other hand Takeko was dealing with the ghost's much better than he could and she didn't even try to interfere with their fighting. She really was being happy only being the scapegoat.

Hijikata felt something snap inside of him, any sort of dignity and self-preservation quickly vanished as pure boiling rage took over. "SHIMAAZUUU!"

* * *

Hijikata Toshizou - May 31, 1835 – June 20, 1869

Nakano Takeko - 1847 - 1868

Their birthdates and deaths, they from the same period of time and their deaths were only separated by one year. One of the many reasons why I chose Takeko as my OC. Hahaha.

And yeah I'm still alive.

A few words about the anime, because that's what got this fandom kickstarted. Ummm, well it was underwhelming. Not as good as the manga, it cut some scenes out and it was kind of rushed. However I'm still happy it got the anime adaptation, so yay for that. I've basically been waiting for the anime ever since Hellsing Ultimate was completed.

Happy Holidays.

Fave, follow, review.

Peace out.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23: Samurai

The fragment of the sword went flying, grazing her cheek as it spun past her and finally stabbing itself into the stone floor. She blinked her eyes in astonishment, just several more centimetres to the left and she would've lost her eye. But that wasn't good at all, the apparitions appearing once more, tenfold in speed and tenacity they all went for Toyohisa who was now unarmed.

Takeko made quickly made her way towards Toyohisa her own weapon drawn out, however was stopped by Hijikata who swung his sword, cutting her arm in the process. Gasping out as it was a relatively deep cut. She leapt out of the way as he once more swung, this time she managed to parry it off. However her spear shuddered and groaned, her arm was not strong enough to fend off his heavy and precise attacks. Her arms was also protesting in pain, the cut wasn't too deep to hit her bone, but it was a wound that would deter her fighting capability.

"Do not interfere, Takeko", he growled out as he parried blow after blow. He knew how she fought, he knew her weak spots but yet she still managed to fend off his strikes. Her eyes following the movements of the flying silver, as she twisted torso to give a round-house kick right in the chest. It managed to hit him as he felt a gush of air being pushed out of him. Jumping back he repositioned his feet and retightened his hold on his sword, his eyes narrowing at her bloodied form and her starkly back hair. She didn't attempt to exchange blows with him again as quickly looked towards her commander.

The apparitions gathered and with nothing to hinder them, they surrounded Toyohisa, his arms folding out into a defensive position, doing his best to avoid the numerous swords. However their movements became faster and faster and soon they managed to swarm around him. Allowing no escape and no chance for him to defend against their swords. Strike after strike and in wild flurry of movements they finally dispersed leaving Toyohisa heavily injured. Blood splattering against the cool stone floor, deepening his vermillion armour in a more profound crimson. Yet when he emerged from the one-sided fight there was still a triumphant grin persisting on his face.

The small sound of the blood dripping down became more apparent as Toyohisa eyed Takeko, it seemed she fared better than himself, but only a little. The lacerations along him weren't deep, shallow enough that it allowed movement, however the wounds around her were deep and she was losing blood as well. He noted as well how her breathing became somewhat laboured as she readjusted polearm to lay on her shoulder. But she was a beautiful sight to behold at the same time, she gave no hint that she was uncomfortable or upset, and her eyes reflected nothing but a smouldering fire. She was dabbled with blood all over, and despite that it made even more appealing to him than he would've imagined.

"You bastards underestimated us", he had remained unharmed in any sort of way. Spare the slight bruise he was forming around his chest area, compliments of Takeko who knew. "You underestimated Shinsengumi. You think you can keep leaping and prancing around forever? Foolish", he muttered as he scrutinised their mishap figures. He observed Takeko from the corner of his eye, she had somewhat slackened herself a little bit now. But her brows were furrowed as her lips were pressed into a think line. He understood this as she didn't take his words too kindly like Toyohisa.

Toyohisa looked shocked for a moment, "I haven't underestimated you even once, though. This is a battlefield. I'll do whatever I gotta do, even mess around", he said, ignoring every single bit of stabbing pain which lurched around his body.

There was a resounding blast which same from the Capitol building, as bursting flame erupted from the windows and the doors. Takeko looked up, and immediately knew that it nothing short but Oda's handiwork. Those troops which had been disperse earlier must've went for the Capitol building she surmised, and Oda had predicted it. ' _That man is truly terrifying. He figured it out so quickly as well, and managed to organise a counter-attack_ ', she thought grimly. She only expected the best from such a famous military commander such as himself.

"Wh-What!" Hijikata turned his attention towards the alight building. ' _How_!?' He gave no hint or clue that was their objective, ' _Wait, no. Everything. All of my actions were taken into account. They didn't let any single detail slip past them. Everything was planned_ ', he grinded his teeth together as he heard the muffled cries and screams of his soldiers being burnt alive. He was the one who had underestimated them, those Drifters!

"Nobu and Yoichi chose me as general, even Takeko has no qualms with following me and listening to my orders. But I never thought of myself that way. After all…above all, I'm just an ambitious brat. I'm nothing compared to my uncle, Yoshihiro-dono and my father. I'm different from them", the blood was even more profound than ever, but he ignored everything. The roaring flames, the burning embers, the smell of smoke. He ignored everything to take into consideration of this warrior before him. "However he is different. Oda Nobunaga, former Minster of the Right, Demon King of the Sixth Heaven, is different! If I act as a distraction for you, in that moment, Nobu could definitely change the tides of battle. If it's for that purpose, even if it's jumping and prancing around, I'll do anything", he claimed happily. His life was solely for the battlefield, only that and nothing else. He would stake his lives just to bring a small chance of winning, he would injure himself beyond recognition just to take the head of the commander. Everything he trained for was dedicated towards the life on the battlefield. Like all men of Satsuma.

Takeko took a step towards Toyohisa, her hand holding onto the broken piece of his sword. She was unnervingly silent as she looked up towards Hijikata. His expression was seemingly calm, but she could feel the tension bubbling within him.

"You bastard…" He bit out.

"Even if our men die at Sekigahara. We Shimazu will turn that into fuel to accomplish even more. Even if we die, we won't have died. With that in mind, we can do anything", his smiled persisted. He knew there was no point on explaining this to Hijikata but having a piece of his mind was something he wanted to share. After all they were samurai, weren't they? Their lives were dedicated to the glory of the battlefield, then surely in some way he can understand what he is saying here.

"Shimazu!" He yelled out. His anger peaking over. Takeko inadvertently flinched slightly. She had rarely ever seen him so angry before, and even that she had never been on the receiving side ever. It was truly frightening.

"Even if I am to die here, Nobunaga will turn by death into the foundation of our success. It may take several ruthless steps", he continued however was promptly cut off.

"That Shimazu attitude brought death to us!" he turned suddenly calm, the apparitions once more appearing, swarming around himself, a strange moan and bellow of wind accompanying the ghost's as they drifted around. ' _I really hate them. I detest this damn clan who die smiling. His eyes are almost boasting, 'We Shimazu are the only true samurai'. Those eyes…I loathe them_ '.

Just as the apparitions were about to strike Toyohisa once more a bellowing voice called out, "Toyo!" The dwarf cried out, stomping his foot through the smoke. His gun out and loaded.

Toyohisa immediately understood his drift, "Yeah! I don't mind! Fire upon me!" He cried out. Takeko immediately knew that she was in peril and tried to make way towards one of the laneways to the side. However Toyohisa grabbed her torso and encompassed his entire body around her, shielding her from any sort of blast. "Stay still!" He ordered as he further wrapped his arms around her, relishing in the feeling of her soft and lithe body. She smelled quite pleasant as well, quite a contrast to all the manly smell he was accustomed to.

All sorts of debris went flying around as soon as the blast was heard, its coverage was far and wide and managed to hit around the side of the buildings as well. Takeko heard small rips of flesh and clothing as she heard the debris fly past them. Although Toyohisa had managed to shield most of her body, her legs still got hit. Although sparse and few compared to the wounds that Toyohisa received.

' _Crazy. Completely crazy_ ', she thought as she felt Toyohisa hug her even tighter. The smell of blood and sweat hit her senses and soon it overwhelmed everything, she kept still though, obeying his orders. There a smell underneath the sweat and blood which she could only identify as his own natural smell, and it completely enveloped her, making her somewhat queasy. Toyohisa himself could smell something most akin to tea from Takeko and unwittingly nuzzled into her neck to smell it better. Takeko immediately flushed up, as she fought every single instinct in her body to beat the man off of her. Her entire body going rigid.

The guns radius had blown away the apparitions though to her amazement and to her own surprise she hadn't minded be in the strange embrace of this man either. Even when there was no longer any flying debris he still relented in letting her go. Immediately when she was out of his grasp and standing on her own two feet, he had regrettably missed the feeling of her warmth and her scent clung to his clothes. But they made no indication of this, either ignoring the strange sensations or being simply too stubborn.

' _What is he? A fool? Among all the people I have seen from Satsuma, he is the greatest fool',_ he thought is astonishment. To willingly take upon the firepower of the gun and not even make an attempt to move out of the way. Takeko had made a struggle to at least find some coverage only to be dragged back. Although it may have been a smarter choice. At least the majority of the wounds were on the back and were easily mendable.

Toyohisa took this chance, he jumped up and immediately kneed Hijikata in the jaw. The force of it sent his head flying back, and there was a distinct crack of his neck being bent at such wild conditions. He managed to look straight back at him in the heat of the moment, "You brat!" Clenching his fist, he sent a hurtling punch right in Toyohisa face. Both now swung back at the immensity of the force put in both respective attacks. "You are genuinely insane!" He cried out, his teeth grinding together.

"War is already insane from the outset", Toyohisa replied cheerfully.

Hijikata suddenly turned silent, his eyes widening as he remained still and a grim expression taunt on his face. His lips upturning into an ugly scowl, "No yet! I still have not lost yet!" He cried out holding out his arm. Toyohisa and Takeko looked at each other in bewilderment. They saw no-one but himself, so who on earth was he talking to.

Toyohisa made a grab for his shoulder, throwing him to the ground, his broken sword latched onto by his mouth. "You're in the middle of a fight! Who the hell are you talking to?! You bashtard!" He pushed down his sword even harder at him, Hijikata only just managing to grab onto his arms and hold back the sword. His neck endured only with a single cut, thin and almost insignificant. Toyohisa not relenting at all pushed down even harder, he was not going to leave this battlefield until he had his head!

"You dead bastard!" He cried out, pushing him off and kneeing him straight in the jaw, Toyohisa flung back down onto the floor with Hijikata pinning him down. Sending another punch straight into his face, knocking him back and forth. The two had completely disregarded their weapons and brawled head straight against each other. Exchanging blows to one another which would've knocked out an otherwise normal person.

"Are you a monster or something!? Die! Hurry up at die!" Hijikata cried out in between blows.

"Ah! Just leave you head, jackass!" Toyohisa retorted, punching him back with even more vigour.

Takeko and the dwarf stood just several metres away watching the spectacle, Takeko holding onto her arm tightly to slow down the blood flow as she looked upon the fight with amusement. She related the fight to two children brawling over a toy. Something funny, but then again these two men were fully grown adults.

"Argh…like this…we'd end up hitting them both. We can't even help", he bit out. a little frustrated at their helplessness.

"They won't need our help. They're doing just fine", Takeko simply said as she saw some ghostly apparitions also materialise next to them. They too were unable to help their master in such close combat. Takeko blinked her eyes in surprise as they took a look at her and bowed as a form of greeting.

She smiled, nodding her head, "Hello", she said. The dwarf doing to same but with a more exasperated expression. He didn't even know that these ghosts could move independently.

Just as Hijikata was about to give him a another good blow to the face he suddenly stopped and jumped back, his expression rather grim and a snarky grimace marred his bloodied face. He was reluctant to even leave however the orders were orders. There was a loud wail of beast that came from the skies, as a dragon came from above, a soldiers seated on its back waiting for Hijikata to board. Jumping back and with the help of the apparitions he made the unhuman jump of some several metres.

Toyohisa and Takeko stood dumbfounded as they stared at the beast in the sky, Takeko felt her jaw slacken a little. "That's a dragon…a real fucking dragon", she said in awe. Toyohisa looked to his left in surprise. That was the first time he had heard a woman ever swear, although it was rather befitting of this situation. Because he didn't even know dragon's even existing in this world as well, although considering he things they had seen it was only to be expected. The dwarf was somewhat surprised but it was not unheard of dragons, so his marvel was only in seeing one after so many years in imprisonment.

"Get down here!" He yelled, staring right up at the dragon and the samurai. "We were just about to get to the good part!" Crossing his arms and with a face of disappointment he huffed out, "And here, I thought I was finally going to be able to fight with a proper Japanese samurai. I won't forgive you for flying away like this. I'll relieve you of your head, so get down here!" Toyohisa bellowed, still looking up at the dragon.

' _This bastard…just earlier, weren't you the one leaping and prancing around?_ ' His eyes turning away, deciding that he enough of this stupid red clad samurai. "Ignore him. Go", he said briefly.

"Understood".

For a split second he decided to look back down, not at Toyohisa but at Takeko. She stood beside Toyohisa and had a rather placid expression. Remaining tall she looked up, both meeting each other's eye. She gave him a smile and lifted up her arm to wave him a small goodbye, before turning away. He blinked his eyes, she had still regarded him as a friend to even give him a wave. Or was she just mocking him. ' _Remain the same. Don't change, Kotake_ ', he thought, turning away as well. Looking towards the distance.

' _I thought I was fighting a proper Japanese samurai_ ', his voice still echoed in his mind. It was such a term he hadn't even referred to himself in years. It was a term which had begun to loose meaning to him. "Samurai…Samurai, huh. Me?" A smile spread across his face, he would look forward to next time. And next time he would also kill him.

Toyohisa let out a grunt of dissatisfaction, "Defeated…but victorious", he grumbled out. The fight was unsatisfactory and his prey had run off with less wounds than him. His wounds finally caught up with him and finally he fell forward. Takeko made a grab for him but then realised that her arms were still injured. Resulting to him collapsing onto her.

Gasping out as she felt his body weight crush her as she fell onto the floor, "H-help…" She wheezed out, reaching for the dwarf.

"Oi! Toyo!" He cried out, as he managed to pull off Toyohisa's unconscious torso off of Takeko who was now heaving. And her head was throbbing in pain with her arms screeching in protest of being stretched and used beyond their capacity. Soon her loss of blood and her cry of muscles made her pass out as well, purely from the sheer dizziness.

* * *

He fumbled through the bedsheets as he woke up with a jolt, a flash of searing pain running through his body as he vaguely remembered what was transpired within the last few hours. Looking around the rooms, he vaguely made out some details. Pinpointing it as one of the official buildings of the Capitol, one of them that had managed to escape the fire. He looked around, the room was not overly dark, being lit by some few candles. Looking to the lone table to his side he could see his clothing and his weaponry all in good shape, except for his sword which lay in two pieces.

He clicked his tongue in irritancy at the thought of his broken sword, it was one of his favourites and he had no replacement blade. There was a small rustling sound to his right which made him flinch and instinctively go for his sword. To his right was also a bed, and there was a moving frame beneath the sheets. It was smaller in comparison and there was a soft groan. He relaxed his muscles, it was her.

The bedsheets moved and finally it was pulled aside, revealing a bandaged woman, with bed tousled hair who looked up and around, her mind still sleep ridden. She slowly got up into a sitting position, rubbing her heavy-lidded eyes, trying to rub the tiredness out of them. Takeko felt her neck crack at the movement and her arm protesting in pain. It was in a small sling but otherwise her body was not in terrible shape. Looking to her left she saw an apprehensive Toyohisa who was bound in so many bandages she didn't recognise him for a moment.

"You've looked better", she mumbled, her tongue fumbling over some words. Her body still laden with sedatives and her head wasn't the clearest right now. She scratched her neck with her one good arm, as she tilted her head left to right. Her hair shifting along with the movement, covering parts of her face.

As the bedsheets slipped further down he could see that she was wearing a single layer of a yukata, and that the clothing had bunched up in awkward places, allowing him to see some things that was not seen by any other man. Thankfully the bandages covered some parts of her body, including the cleavage area which was now bound.

"How are your wounds", he said turning away, his face somewhat flushed, trying to wash the image out of his mind.

She took a look at herself lifting some of the bandages to get a peek at the cuts, "Not as bad as I thought", she deemed. She slowly swung her legs to the side of the bed and with some effort she managed to get up. She was not in such a bad position where she could not get out of bed, but it would've been better if she stayed put. Toyohisa also made the attempt to pull himself out as well, but his muscles groaned out in protest and his legs simply didn't have the energy or strength. His wounds were just too deep.

Walking past Toyohisa's bed she took a look outside, it was currently night, not too much past sunset. Her legs were aching and she was pushing herself to even stand, finally relenting she hobbled back her bed. However only managing to make it to Toyhisa's bed before sitting down as her muscles cried out. Panting slightly as she rubbed her head, she was still dizzy from her loss of blood.

"You shouldn't be walking around so soon", Toyohisa reprimanded as he felt the bed shift in gravity as Takeko lay against his legs, resting her arm on his knee, her chin in turn resting on her elbow crease.

She gave him a sceptical look, but said nothing. Silence enveloped the room, however soon soft snores could be heard, Toyohisa blinked in astonishment. She had fell asleep on his legs!? He leaned forward to nudge her so she could return to her own bed, but seeing her serene expression and her soft snores he didn't have the heart to wake her up. With some effort he managed to grab her bedsheets and drape them over her body. She tucked her head even further into the soft folds of the bedsheets, curling up into a ball.

Her body warmth quickly enveloping her legs, although making them numb at the same time from the lack of blood movement. However he made no protest as she continued to sleep. She was a deep sleeper, that or she had way too many sedatives in her body. But she slept rather peacefully, her hair curtaining some of her face. The strands getting stuck to her lips as they flickered along with her breathing.

He didn't know what compelled him, but he leaned closer and brushed the strands from her face, combing them behind her ear. He pulled back his hand almost immediately, staring at his hand with shock. He had done that out of compulsion and not by reasoning or thought. But his hand had remembered the soft touch and feel of her skin, it was unlike his. His was rough and always dirtied in some way. Her's was soft, silky and pearly. It felt nice against his calloused fingertips.

He leaned back as he let out a heavy sigh.

' _What am I doing?_ '

* * *

Lol, I bet you weren't expecting this. A new chapter the very next day or that ^

You can have your own fantasies in the reviews.

Fave, follow, review

Peace out.


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